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Helping People Get Better
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Forensic Services

Our Forensic Service provides assessment, treatment and rehabilitation to people with severe mental health problems who have committed a criminal offence or who have shown seriously aggressive or threatening behaviour.   We provide our care through secure inpatient units and specialist community teams.

Most of our patients come into the service through the criminal justice system, but also from local psychiatric hospitals and high security hospitals.

We have a Magistrates Liaison Scheme that identifies people who may need treatment from our service. Some of these people may already be receiving support for their mental health problems from a local service such as a Community Mental Health Team, but need more specialist help. Others may not be receiving any support.

We also provide Psychiatry services to Her Majesty's Prisons Birmingham, Long Lartin, Blakenhurst, Brockhill, Ryehill, Brinsford and Swinfen Hall.

The service provides is sometimes asked to provide second opinions and advice on how to manage patients to staff in local mental health services, probation and social services.

Inpatient Units

Patients who are admitted to one of our inpatient units are cared for by a team of staff from a wide range of professions.

Teams are made up of a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, junior medical staff, Social Workers, Community Psychiatric Nurses, Occupational Therapists and Psychologists. The teams are also supported by a Pharmacy service that advises on medication.  Our staff put together a plan of care which suits the individual needs of the patient. This could include psychological therapies, medication and other treatments such as occupational therapy.   They aim to rehabilitate patients so that they can successfully re-enter the community.

Our inpatient units are:

Reaside Clinic - a medium secure inpatient unit for men

Hillis Lodge - a low secure inpatient unit for men who need supervised long-term rehabilitation

Ardenleigh - a medium secure unit for women and an inpatient unit for 10 - 18 year olds which forms part of a national network of forensic services for children and adolescents.

 

Community Services

We have community teams of social workers and Community Psychiatric Nurses that provide follow-up care to patients once they have been discharged from our inpatient units.

The teams support patients until they are ready to be transferred to the care of a local mental health service such as a Community Mental Health Team.