A NEW mental health service has launched in Southampton with the aim of taking pressure off hospitals.

Southern Health will be piloting a crisis lounge in the city for those having mental health issues which represents a £380,000 investment over the next 18 months.

Based at Antelope House, the lounge is a safe haven for people experiencing problems and is aimed at stopping people going through Southampton General Hospital's accident and emergency department.

The lounge is part of a wider programme of investment as a result of Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group's mental health strategy.

Sarah Leonard, acute care matron at Antelope House, said: "Local people using the new crisis lounge will be able to benefit from improved and more rapid triage, assessments, interventions, advice and support.

"They will be cared for by mental health nurses, as well as peer supporters who have lived experience of mental illness themselves.

"By using the lounge, people may be able to avoid an unwanted admission to an inpatient unit, instead benefitting from intensive support while remaining in their homes."

Between April 2016 and March of this year, 117, 794 people went through A&E run by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust with an average waiting time of more than one hour.

A&E does have a psychiatric liaison service, but Southern Health say that the lounge will reduce the risk to patients themselves and the risks to others at A&E.

Peer support worker, Stephani Ashby, said: "My fellow peer support workers and I will offer visitors to the Crisis Lounge empathetic, constructive and compassionate support specific to their needs.

"We are based in a safe, calm and welcoming environment where people going through a mental health crisis can regroup and begin to focus on a positive future."

The lounge will initially run for the 18-month period with the aim of extending beyond that time frame and moving to a more community-based location.

The service is currently open for four shift a week, from Monday to Thursday, 4pm until midnight. As the service gains more staff through recruitment, they aim to deliver 24/7 care.