£14.5m specialist CAMHS unit underway
A state of the art Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit (CAMHS) is currently being built in Armley, Leeds. The 22 bedroom Unit will provide much-needed space and modern facilities for children and young people with mental health needs from across the whole of West Yorkshire when it opens in autumn 2021.
It's a huge and important step forward in the region's mental health services and will mean that children and young people can get the care they need close to home. At the moment, many of them have to be placed where beds are available and this can be many miles from home and their loved ones which can hinder some young people’s progress and recovery.
The new Unit, which has been designed with input from young people, has a multi-purpose activity room, educational facilities, a room for family visits and an enclosed garden for the young people and the staff who will be caring for them. There will also be a health-based place of safety for young people in crisis who need urgent help (Section 136).
The Unit is a joint venture between Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust (LCH), providing clinical services, and Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) providing the building. It will replace the current in-patient CAMHS base in the Grade II listed Little Woodhouse Hall. The care children and young people receive there is rated as ‘good’ and we aim to provide outstanding care - the new Unit will provide the facilities that will help us to do that.
Here are some interesting facts and figures about the new CAMHS building:
The building
At its highest point the building is 8.85m high and has a total interior space of 3,156m2.
257 tonnes of steel have been used to create the building's frame. It will be infilled with SFS (structural framing system)
1017 cubic metres of concerte have been used in the foundations and this will rise to 1200 cubic metres by the time the Unit is finished.
There will be 124 panels on the roof of the unit, generating power for the building.
The design includes 48 parking bays for staff and visitors - three of these will have charging points for electric vehicles.
The Trees
We've had to remove 17 trees to make way for the building - but we'll be planting three trees for each one that had to be felled. The species will be:
Acer campestre - Field Maple
Acer platanoides - Emerald Queen
Betula albosinensis - Chinese Red Birch
Betula pendula - Silver Birch
Acer japonicium 'Aconitifolium' - Amur Maple
Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer' - Callery Pear
Quercus robur fastigiata - Common Oak
Tillia cordata Greenspire - Small Leafed Lime
Liriodendron tulipifera - Tulip Tree
