Out of Area Placement (OAP) team
If you're experiencing a severe mental health incident and we're unable to support you in our hospital, we can refer you to our partner hospitals and care centres.
We understand that being brought into care during a challenging mental health situation can be distressing.
If we’re unable to offer the right care for you for any reason, or there is a team in another NHS Trust who can give you the support you need, we’ll work with them to arrange a placement for you through our Out of Area Placements (OAP) service.
At all times we’ll make sure you’re safe and comfortable.
There are two types of OAP we can provide. The first is a referral to our secure specialist rehabilitation ward rooms. If you’ve been referred to us under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act, we may offer this service for your safety and the safety of others. We’ll help prepare you for life back in the community when you’re ready to leave.
Our second OAP type is known as Trial Section 17 Leave. Under the Mental Health Act, this means one of our care professionals can grant you a brief leave from hospital. This will be for a short amount of time only, and it will depend on your recovery progress.
Any OAP decision we make with you will depend on a number of different things, such as:
- There is a clear medical reason why OAP is the best option for you
- There are clear expectations of how this placement will help you
- The right plans are in place so we can monitor your situation
- There are steps to place you back in our hospital when it’s right to do so
If you’ve been referred to our team, we’ll work with you and your care professional and explain what will happen next.
Unfortunately, we don’t accept self referrals for out of area placement.
Instead, referrals and the decision to arrange an out of area placement will be made by your care coordinator or consultant psychiatrist.
They can help answer any question you might have about why and how the referral is being made.
If you’re a care professional, you can use the following forms to refer your patient to us.
Documents for Berkshire-wide services
Documents for services based in East Berkshire
Documents for services based in West Berkshire
If you need urgent help, or you're concerned, please contact our crisis team.
Call 0300 365 9999
Our mental health teams and services, including Talking Therapies, are available if you need support.
Find out how to access mental health support (opens new browser tab)
You can also find resources and guides on our website to help you if you need more advice.
Resources to help with your mental health wellbeing (opens new browser tab)
We’re available for contact between 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, although our office is closed at Weekends.
| Day of the week | Opening time |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9am to 5pm |
| Tuesday | 9am to 5pm |
| Wednesday | 9am to 5pm |
| Thursday | 9am to 5pm |
| Friday | 9am to 5pm |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |
You can contact our team by calling or email.
Call 07786 705 291
Email Mailbox.BHFTOAPS@berkshire.nhs.uk
If you need support outside of our opening hours, our bed management team at Prospect Park hospital will be able to support you.
Our Neurodiversity Passport can help you communicate your needs to our staff. It covers sensory processing, your communication preferences, and topics that might make you feel anxious and overwhelmed, so that we can support you.
