How the NHS provides care for people with learning disabilities has changed in recent years and is now focused on providing more care closer to people’s homes, in the community. This approach aims to prevent people being admitted to hospital for what can be long periods of time. It is designed to improve the quality of life for people with learning difficulties and mental health conditions, enabling them to stay connected to their families and communities.
Across England the number of young people with learning disabilities being admitted to specialist hospital units has steadily declined, as more people are cared for and supported outside of hospital.
Crystal House is a small NHS unit in Brent, North West London. It provides care for young people aged 13 to 18 with a diagnosis of severe learning disabilities who may also have a neurodevelopmental need such as autism.
severe learning disabilities, mental health challenges, and/or autism. The service cannot care for children or young people with autism alone.
Crystal House opened in 2019 and is what’s known as a Tier 4 service, which means it provides the most intensive levels of NHS care and support for young people with highly complex needs. It is one of only four units across the whole of England providing this type of very specialist care.
The number of children and young people with a learning disability and autism who need inpatient care has steadily decreased, partly because of the changes described above in how care is being provided, with more young people being cared for in their own communities. As a result, Crystal House cares for fewer than four people each year - and sometimes there are no patients at all.
We believe there are better ways of delivering this highly specialist service for the very small number of children and young people in our area who need this level of support and care, that would intervene earlier and support them to remain in their community.
We want to make sure we meet the needs of young people with learning disabilities and mental health challenges across North West London in the best way possible. This is why we are exploring how services could be delivered differently in the future.
We are proposing a new community-based service that would provide:
- specialist community support teams offering care in familiar environments, such as homes and schools
- flexible operating hours to provide better crisis support and early intervention
- clear pathways for stepped-up or stepped-down care to prevent crises and unnecessary hospital stays
- an integrated partnership approach, working closely with schools, social care providers, and healthcare teams to ensure coordinated care
We know that community-based care might not be suitable for everyone in all circumstances and some young people might still need specialist care. This would still be provided in general adolescent units, with additional support, or in other specialist settings.
Your views matter. We are in the early stages of exploring the best way forward and are speaking with young people, families, carers, and professionals. No decisions have been made yet, and your input will help shape the future of care.
If you would like to learn more or share your thoughts about our proposals, we’d love to hear from you - please email wlm-tr.nwlcamhspc@nhs.net. We would also be happy to meet with you in person or online to talk about this in more detail. Your input is invaluable in helping us shape the best way to deliver care in the future for children and young people with complex learning disability and mental health needs.
To see the unit, visit this link for a virtual tour
Crystal House is a specialist inpatient unit for young people (aged 13 to 18 years) with a learning disability and mental health need.
All referrals into the Service must be via a Psychiatry, Tier 3 CAMHS, Tier 4 CAMHS, Community LD and be approved by NHS England before admission into Crystal House.
For more information about how to make a referral to this service, please download this document.
Bus
79, 114, 288, 305, 324, 606, 628, 688
Tube
Jubilee Line
- Kingsbury
- Queensbury
Rail
None
Parking
Yes
You can visit on weekdays between 10am to 12pm, 2pm to 5pm and 7pm to 8.30pm and 7pm to 8.30pm on weekends.
Please let the nurse in charge know when you plan to visit.
