A £1.2m support service for young people in need of help has opened in Radcliffe.
The service, Radcliffe Place, accommodates people ages 16 to 25 with a learning disability or autism to help them avoid hospital when they are experiencing a crisis.
Run by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, the service is thought to be the first of its kind in the country for this age group and aims to keep people closer to home.
International disability equality and human rights activist Paula McGowan OBE has praised the facility.
Paula founded Oliver’s Campaign, following the death of her son, who was an autistic teenager and had a mild learning disability.
She said she cannot wait to see the difference the service will make to people's lives.
She said: “Like everyone else, people with a learning disability and autistic people deserve to receive the very best care that’s right for their needs.
“I was really pleased to hear from the Radcliffe Place team, as this new service really resonates with my mission to improve care and keep people who have a learning disability and autistic people out of hospital.
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“The team’s shared passion is clear from the phenomenal amount of research and hard work they’ve dedicated to developing Radcliffe Place.
“More services like this are desperately needed and I’ll be cheering them on every step of the way.”
The new services will provide people with care and therapy for up to 12 weeks, to keep them safe, enable recovery, dramatically improve their quality of life, and provide greater support to families and carers.
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Radcliffe Place has four beds, with potential to grow however small patient numbers are vital, as patients will receive highly intensive care and therapy during their stay.
Dr Dipti Patil, clinical director for the learning disability care hub and interim network associate medical director-south, said: “Radcliffe Place was born from a research study we undertook a few years ago, after noticing a worrying pattern in the care history of many adult clients.
“We were struck by the large number of hospital admissions, many of which we felt could have been avoided if their needs had been met much earlier.
“For most people, hospital is not the best place. It can often lead to trauma, damage relationships with professionals and negatively impact their whole life. People shouldn’t be detained because of their reaction to a situation, and we wanted to change things for the better.”
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Dr Rohan Morris, principal clinical psychologist and clinical lead for Radcliffe Place, added: “We analysed data from our clients at risk of a hospital admission and found providing access to short period of respite reduced the odds.
“Fast forward five years, I can’t quite believe we’re opening and able to put our research findings into practice for the benefit of the people we serve.
“It wouldn’t be possible without tireless hard work and dogged determination from the whole Radcliffe Place team, vital insight from those with lived experience and support from our many external partners.
"It’s been a true partnership approach and ticks all of our four big ambitions.
“We feel privileged to be working in such an amazing facility and can’t wait to start making a positive difference so people can live a life they find fulfilling.”
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