East of England, NHS Specialist Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Provider Collaborative

We support the development and delivery of specialised mental health services that improve outcomes and experiences for people across the East of England.

This includes:

• Helping more people receive care closer to home
• Developing alternatives to hospital admission
• Reducing unnecessary inpatient stays and ensuring high-quality care when hospital admission is needed.

By improving care pathways and working closely with providers, we support people to receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

We work across a range of specialised services, including adult secure care, eating disorder services, perinatal mental health services and children and young people's mental health services.

We also create opportunities for people with lived experience, families, carers and partners to influence decisions and help shape future services.

At the heart of our work is a commitment to helping people receive the right care, in the right place, as close to home as possible. We will continue to build on this work and support residents who are still receiving care outside the East of England to return closer to home where appropriate.

We work alongside clinicians, people who use services, families and carers to improve services and develop new ways of delivering care.

By working together across organisations and systems, we can make the best use of resources while improving outcomes and experiences for local communities.

We are committed to:

• Supporting people to receive care closer to home where appropriate.
• Developing community-based alternatives to hospital admission.
• Reducing unnecessary or prolonged hospital stays.
• Ensuring inpatient care is safe, therapeutic and effective when admission is needed.
• Improving access, outcomes and experiences for all communities.
• Reducing health inequalities across the East of England.

We commission and oversee specialised mental health services across the East of England, including:

• Adult secure and learning disability services (low- and medium-secure care).
• Adult eating disorder services.
• Children and young people's specialised mental health services, including forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
• Perinatal mental health services, including mother-and-baby units.

We work closely with providers to maintain quality, safety and continuous improvement across all services.

All of our service lines have achieved NHS England's highest level of quality assurance oversight, demonstrating the high standards of care delivered across the East of England.

Adult secure (learning disability and autism) inpatient services locations: 

Bedfordshire

Robin Pinto Unit, Luton and Dunstable Hospital
Operated by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Woodlea Clinic, Bedford
Operated by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Cambridgeshire

George Mackenzie House, Fulbourn
Operated by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Hertfordshire:

Warren Court, Abbots Langley
Kingsley Green, Radlett
Operated by Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Kneesworth House, Royston
Operated by Priory Group –independent sector provider

Cygnet Hospital, Stevenage
Operated by Cygnet Healthcare 

Essex

Brockfield House, Wickford
Edward House, Chelmsford
Operated by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

St Andrew’s Healthcare, Basildon 
Operated by St Andrew’s Healthcare – independent sector provider

Norfolk

Hellesdon Hospital, Norwich
Northside House, Norwich
Operated by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Suffolk

Foxhall House, Ipswich 
Operated by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Priory Burson House, Burston
Operated by Priory Group – independent sector provider

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Adult eating disorders locations of specialist inpatient and community-based services

Cambridgeshire 

S3 Unit ( Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge)
Operated by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Norfolk

Newmarket House, Norwich 
Operated by Newmarket House – independent sector provider

Essex

Priory House, Chelmsford 
Operated by Priory Group – independent sector provider

Community Alternative Services
A-EDIT (Adult Eating Disorders Intensive Treatment) service – alternative to inpatient admission for adults with severe eating disorders across the East of England.

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Children and young people’s mental health locations of specialist inpatient and community-based alternatives to admission

Cambridgeshire

The Darwin Centre, Cambridge
Operated by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Bedfordshire 

Evergreen Unit, Luton and Dunstable Hospital
Operated by East London NHS Foundation Trust

Hertfordshire 

Forest House, Radlett
Operated by Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Rhodes Wood Hospital, Hatfield
Potters Bar Clinic, Potters Bar
Operated by Elysium Healthcare – independent sector provider

Essex

Poplar Unit, Rochford Hospital
St Aubyn Centre, Colchester
Operated by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Norfolk

Dragonfly Unit, Carlton Court Hospital, Lowestoft
Operated by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

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Community alternative services

Home Treatment Team (HTT) service

Alternative to inpatient admission for children and young people across Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, providing intensive community-based support to help prevent admission and support earlier discharge.

CAMHS Alternative to Admission Team (CATAT) service

Alternative to inpatient admission for children and young people in Norfolk and Suffolk, providing intensive community-based support and facilitating earlier discharge.

Children and Young People’s Eating Disorder Intensive Day Services

An alternative to inpatient admission provided through four regional hubs across the East of England, offering intensive specialist treatment closer to home and supporting earlier discharge where appropriate.

Four Hubs:

• The Aspire, East London NHS Foundation Trust
• The Lighthouse, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust NSFT
• The Beacon, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
• East London NHS Foundation Trust Intensive Day Service

East of England Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

Regional specialist forensic service supporting children and young people with complex needs as an alternative to secure or inpatient care across the East of England.

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Perinatal locations of inpatient services

Hertfordshire

Thumbswood MBU, Radlett
Operated by Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Norfolk

Kingfisher MBU, Hellesdon Hospital, Norwich
Operated by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Essex

Rainbow MBU, Linden Centre, Chelmsford
Operated by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

We have worked with partners across the East of England to improve specialised mental health services and support more people to receive care in their local communities.

We have helped more people access care closer to home, reducing the need for out-of-area placements. Through our repatriation programme, people are returning to the East of England to be closer to their families, friends and local support networks.

By improving care pathways, supporting timely discharge where appropriate and investing in alternatives to hospital admission, we are helping more people receive specialist care in the least restrictive setting that meets their needs.

Some of the key achievements delivered through the East of England Provider Collaborative include service innovations, quality improvements, new models of care, and initiatives that support better outcomes for people across the region. Please refer to the Annual Report for more information. 

We continue to work alongside people with lived experience, families, carers, clinicians and partner organisations to develop services that meet the needs of communities across the East of England. 

“The team didn’t just treat the illness, they treated me as a whole person. Having that support in my own environment made everything feel more manageable.” 
Person who used an alternative to admission service.

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“I feel really proud of the children and young people's wards and how well we have been able to work with them to embed our monthly Expert by Experience Groups into their timetables. From young people's feedback, these groups have been valuable for them and they always ask insightful questions that make me think about new ways to make my role useful for our inpatient population.” 
Expert by Experience

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“The Children and Young People’s Eating Disorders Service's intensive alternative to admission service came to us at a key point in time. Our daughter wasn’t coping in the community with the support being offered and needed something more. We were offered the day service at The Beacon and it seems like the right service to support our daughter to get better. The staff have been great and keep us updated regularly. The only challenges we have faced are understanding some of the language used and being able to talk to staff when our daughter isn’t present. Both easily solvable. The education offered is great. We are lucky to not live too far away and I don’t work so dropping off and collecting our daughter is not a problem for us.”
Parents of the person who used an alternative to admission service

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“Being part of the provider collaborative advisory group has increased my confidence to speak out. I now attend LGBTQ events and am proud of who I am, prior to the staff in the provider collaborative having belief in me I wouldn’t have been able to do this.”
Involvement partner with lived experience