She acknowledges it is not cheap to run such a service: it costs £3.2m of public money a year, but she says it saves around the same amount by easing pressure on A&E and other emergency services.
“Care has been better and we’ve spent the money better,” she said.
“When this unit opened, within a matter of weeks, we were able to admit fewer people to hospital, to stop paying the private sector for overspill care and treatment, and to reinvest that money back into more local services.”
Minister for Mental Health, Baroness Merron, said: “Too often, people experiencing a mental health crisis are not getting the support or care they deserve, and so it is vital that we continue to provide a range of services like this one.”
She said the government was “transforming” services – with £26m invested in new crisis centres, hiring more staff, more talking therapies, and getting waiting lists down.
“On top of this, through our proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act, we will ensure people with the most severe mental health conditions get better, more personalised care.”