Should you need urgent health advice please contact your GP or call NHS 111. In an emergency please visit A&E or call 999
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The Beacon is a mental health inpatient unit for young people aged between 13 – 18. The young people who stay here are experiencing difficulties with their mental health and require a hospital admission to be treated for their mental health difficulties. Sometimes, young people stay at the Beacon if the treatment they need cannot be provided safely in the community. This is sometimes called ‘being admitted’.
All the teams in CAMHS are multi-disciplinary. This means that there are a wide range of specialist staff who all work with children and young people experiencing mental health difficulties.
Once you have been admitted to the Beacon, you will be allocated a member of staff to work closely with during your stay to plan your care. They will be known as your named nurse or named healthcare support worker.
Other people who will support you include psychiatrists who will review your mental health needs and medication (if necessary) and psychologists who will help you with therapy to help improve your mental health. The team will work with you to support with your mental health, this will include reviewing your mental health needs and medication (if necessary) and some people will help you with therapy to help improve your mental health. They will use different ways to help you understand and work on your mental health, this may be talking, but they will work with you to find the way that helps you to be able to do this.
The Beacon Unit has a small school. You will be offered lessons each day to ensure that you are not missing out on your education whilst in the Beacon. The staff here are fully qualified teachers who will help you with your studies.
The Beacon Unit is opposite the Bradgate Mental Health Unit which is based at the Glenfield Hospital. Click here for further information on The Beacons location.
The team in the Beacon will work with you to help you on your way to recovery. Because everyone has different mental health needs, the team will make an individual plan just for you. This is called a care plan. To figure out what your plan should be, the team will assess you and your needs shortly after you arrive. The main aim of the staff at the Beacon is to help you get into a more stable place with your mental health so that you are able to leave the Beacon and go back in your home or community.
Young people come into the Beacon in two main ways. Some are informal patients, which means you’ve agreed to come into hospital for support and you can usually decide to leave. This decision will be made with the clinical team who will let you know if there are any concerns regarding this and what they feel needs to happen.
Others come in because they have been detained under the Mental Health Act. This only happens after a Mental Health Act assessment, which is carried out by three professionals:
These professionals work together to decide whether staying in hospital is the safest way to support you right now.
If you are detained, you still have important rights. You’ll be given clear information about why you’re here and how long the section lasts. You can speak to an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) who can help you understand everything and support you in meetings. You also have the right to ask for your section to be reviewed by a tribunal.
No matter how you come in, our job is to support you, involve you in decisions, and help you feel safe while we work through what’s going on.
When you and family/carer first arrive, you will be admitted to the Beacon by one of the doctors and asked a series of questions relating to your mental health and other parts of your life. A qualified nurse or healthcare support worker will introduce themselves to you and then show you around the Beacon. They will show you your bedroom and en-suite and will talk to you about the routines at the Beacon. They will start to introduce you to other staff and the young people who are there. They will be able to answer questions you may have. You will also be given a welcome pack with lots of helpful information.
If you need urgent mental health support, you can call NHS 111 and press option 2 or visit https://111.nhs.uk/ and follow the on screen instructions. This service is totally free and confidential. Families can call NHS 111 and choose Option 2, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and speak to a qualified call handler if they require advice around urgent mental health concerns for children and young people. Please note however that the NHS 111 line is not an emergency service. Where there is an immediate, serious and life-threatening emergency, call 999 or attend A and E. You can also
