Closer2Home
Closer2Home is an intensive home treatment service that supports children and young people with acute mental health problems in their homes across Dorset and Hampshire.
Who are we?
We are a specialist mental health service providing intensive treatment at home for children and young people who are experiencing acute mental health difficulties.
Closer2Home operates across Dorset and Hampshire and is delivered by three NHS Trusts which each provide a Closer2Home team for their local area.
Our service is made up of lots of different professionals, who have a range of skills and expertise to be able to help you. These clinical and non-clinical staff include Consultant Psychiatrists, Mental Health Practitioners, Community Adolescent Senior Support Workers, Peer Support Workers and Trainee Nurse Associates.
The service operates 365 days a year from 8am-8pm, and the teams work together to deliver a specialist service to help young people remain at home who otherwise would have been admitted to an inpatient hospital.
When you are referred to Closer2Home you will have an initial welcome meeting to discuss the difficulties you are having at the moment and areas where you might need extra support. We will also give you more detail about our service and what you can expect from us, such as:
- Assessment and intensive support for your mental health needs
- Planned intensive home or community-based treatment
- Supported discharge from hospital
We will talk about what help the Closer2Home team can provide and then work with you, your family and other services involved in your care to develop a care plan, which includes specific treatment options based on your needs.
Closer2Home is an intensive treatment service and aims to ensure that you receive the support you need whilst being able to stay at home.
We specialise in supporting young people who:
- Repeatedly harm themselves and/or make suicidal gestures; and who may also experience rapid or exaggerated changes in mood, and distress in relationships
- Have complex eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa, and require intensive treatment
- Are currently in Tier 4 mental health services who could be discharged or moved closer to home if increased support was available.
We will regularly review the care you are receiving in the community to ensure that you have the appropriate support in place, and will work closely with other services involved in your care to ensure that all services are contributing to your care in a collaborative way.
Referrals to the service are managed through the same processes and pathways used for Tier 4 inpatient services, so children and young people who previously required an inpatient stay can now also be considered for the Closer2Home service.
Closer2Home operates across Dorset and Hampshire is delivered by three NHS Trusts who each provide a Closer2Home team for their local area; Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust, Solent NHS Trust and Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is the lead provider for the service and combined, these Trusts form the Wessex and Dorset CAMHS Tier 4 Provider Collaborative, which also includes Isle of Wight NHS Trust which will provide a Closer2Home team in the future.
The Closer2Home service provides the opportunity for a range of exciting new roles and career opportunities. When joining us you will receive a comprehensive induction and development training, to ensure that you are equipped with the tools and confidence that you need to support the young people the service will be working with.
The roles
- Mental Health Practitioners
- Community Adolescent Senior Support Workers
- CPA (Care Program Approach) Co-ordinator
- Team Administrator
Training and support
The team are highly trained with a range of skills and expertise required to effectively support the children and young people referred to the service, and to manage the complexity of their conditions. Staff receive a comprehensive induction and ongoing training to ensure they have the skills and confidence required for their role. This includes:
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Autism Training
- Eating Disorder Training