The Orchard unit provides high-quality care for women who have mental illness, or a personality disorder and who need care in a low, medium or enhanced medium secure setting.
The team is committed to treating women in the least restrictive environment, focusing on dynamic care planning and therapeutic engagement, where the women in the Orchard take an active role in making choices about their care.
There are 60 beds in 6 wards. Two of the wards are designed specifically for women who require enhanced levels of intervention and treatment in a medium secure setting and for whom current medium secure services are not appropriate.
In addition, three wards provide medium secure services and one provides low secure services.
To help service users heal and recover from psychological abuse and trauma, the environment is designed to be:
- Positive
- Safe
- Self-affirming.
A multi-disciplinary team considers the specific care and treatment needs of individuals. Their aim is to encourage active engagement.
Care is focused on recovery. Services are co-produced, meaning everything is done with a high level of consultation and engagement with the service users, who make active choices about their care.
The Orchard unit is on the St Bernard’s Hospital site in Ealing.
It comprises:
- Main entrance and reception area
- Glazed central atrium with a cafe
- Secure garden around the building
- Six wards.
There is a high fence around the unit for security.
We recognise and value carers as key partners in supporting service users on the road to recovery. We’ll work with you and support you as much as possible in your caring role.
You can be identified as a carer if you have sustained and regular social contact with a service user. So, you could be a relative, a friend or someone else who cares for them. If you’re identified as a carer, you can be part of their care planning process.
West London NHS Trust is signed up to the Triangle of Care, a national programme developed by staff and carers to ensure collaboration between the service user, professional and carer.
The unit offers:
- Women’s Enhanced Medium Secure Services (WEMSS). This provides 20 beds for the catchment area of England.
- Medium secure services and low secure services. These include the 40 beds for the local catchment and North London Partnership Area.
Service users arrive at the Orchard from:
- The courts
- High secure services
- Psychiatric units with conditions of lesser security.
All referrals will be considered through a multi-disciplinary admissions panel.