Crisis services

Evidence shows that crisis houses offer a cost-effective alternative to acute admissions, are preferred by people who use services and carers, and produce comparable outcomes. A comparison of standard acute inpatient mental health care and alternatives found that alternatives are significantly cheaper - on average £3,832 per admission compared to £9,850 - and more cost-effective - £2,939 cheaper per unit of HoNOS improvement score (Health of the National Outcome Scales), with much shorter average stays.

A recent report shows that 27% of respondents rarely feel safe whilst in hospital. A staggering 51% of inpatients report being verbally or physically threatenend during their stay, with 20% reporting physical assault and 31% of harassment or assault episodes being perpetrated by ward staff. A study comparing patient satisfaction, ward atmosphere and perceived coercion in community residential alternatives and standard wards, showed those using the alternative services reported greater levels of satisfaction, having more of a 'voice', greater autonomy, more support, less anger and aggression, and fewer experiences perceived as coercive.

We have been running crisis houses since 2002 and offer an innovative and effective alternative to hospitals admission; a flexible partnership model in the community.

To ensure we offer the best service model, we have a working group who regularly refine and further develop the model in consulation with people who use our services and carers. Our crisis service model is flexible to meet the needs of the local community and commissioner preferences. 

We are experienced at working with clients with a range of needs, many of them 'complex' i.e. people with a range of co-existing needs such as dual-diagnosis, personality disorders and chaotic lifestyles. 

At our crisis house in Rotherham we work in partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Doncaster and South Humber Healthcare NHS Trust, with us providing the accommodation based aspect of the service.

All referrals come through the statutory Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams / Access Teams who act as gatekeepers. The service is available to adults (16+) experiencing a mental health crisis as an alternative to hospital admission.

Residents can access 24-hour emotional and practical support to help them get back on their feet, promoting a culture of hope for people experiencing mental health problems. The service operates an 'open door' policy enabling people to maintain their independence and links in the community. The service endeavours to meet all individual requirements, including the additonal needs of people from minority cultural groups, and links are made with specialist services in order to achieve this if required.

Crisis Prevention Project

Rotherham Crisis Accommodation offers the opportunity to develop new skills and self management techniques to promote health and wellbeing which can be continued following discharge in order to prevent future crisis situations. Staff at the service offer support to develop skills such as gardening, relaxation techniques, IT and numeracy, exercise, nutrition and arts and crafts and will provide the necessary resources.

Outreach services

In April 2011, all our crisis services received funding from the Stone Foundation to provide outreach services to run alongside the crisis acommodation services. The Crisis Outreach Services provide support to people for a further one to thee months in order to achieve their longer term goals. All goals are tailored to meet individual needs and aspirations.

Tailoring our service model

In our newly commissioned services in London we offer a mix of crisis support, step-down, and crisis prevention support. we are also piloting community move-on options during 2011, meaning that staff will continue to support an individual's recovery journey for a period of time after their stay in the crisis house ends. We are also able to offer a non-residential option linked with a crisis house.

Read more about our award-winning crisis services.

Our Rotherham service admits approximately 200 people per year, with average stays of around 4.7 nights. We were a national finalist for the NHS Live award for Innovation and Improvement at the Health and Social Care Awards in 2005 and continue to achieve outstanding outcomes on a range of measurements. Improvements are clearly demonstrated when comparing admission and discharge scores according to our Recovery Star data. The areas which consistently scored the highest difference in scores between July 2010 and March 2011 are managing mental health, identity and self esteem.