Work to build a new eight-bed children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) at the Warneford Hospital is well under way and recruitment has begun.

Right now the Trust is seeking people to fulfil the roles of Charge Nurse and Positive Behaviour Lead.

Dr Tony James, consultant at the Highfield Unit, said:

“This is a fantastic time to get involved in something very special right at the start and to make a difference to the lives of young people at a vulnerable stage of their illness.

“To have the opportunity to join a new team and really help to shape the service is something that does not come along very often.

“We know that there are some very special candidates out there – people with great experience as well as newly qualified people seeking their first job.

“Whatever your experience I would urge anyone interested in a job in mental health care to take a look at the current roles and to keep a close watch on the Oxford Health jobs pages as more PICU jobs are advertised.”

Right now the Trust is seeking people to fulfil the roles of Charge Nurse and Positive Behaviour Lead.

The PICU will enable young people experiencing the most acutely disturbed phase of a serious mental disorder to receive specialist help closer to home.  It will sit alongside the award-winning Highfield Adolescent Inpatient Unit on the Warneford site in Oxford, to provide specialist Intensive inpatient mental health care, assessment and comprehensive treatments for young people across the Thames Valley region.

The clinical model for the unit will include Positive Behaviour Support (PBS).  PBS is a therapeutic strategy used to empower an individual and improve their quality of life by helping others not only to understand and reduce behaviours that challenge but to also support them to develop and learn new skills.  This includes a holistic, functional assessment of the individual and their behaviour, including the social and environmental context in which it occurs.

The building is set to open in Spring 2023.