Your journey as a patient at Schoen Clinic York: key information

Practicalities: what happens when I come in?

The first day in our hospital is about unpacking and orientating yourself to the new environment. The nurses and healthcare assistants on duty will introduce themselves and you will have a copy of the agreement to treatment to review and sign. The agreement to treatment details your care plan for the initial period ahead of your first multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting. As your week goes on, more members of your MDT will introduce themselves and explain their involvement in your treatment plan.

The hospital operates in line with the latest government COVID-19 Guidelines, the latest guidance will be explained to you at the pre-admission assessment.

What should I bring?

• Clothes for daytime, night-time and outdoors. It is best if these are individually labelled, as we do sometimes do your laundry for you.
• Wash bag and toiletries.
• Your own duvet, pillow and covers (we do have spares, but you will probably feel more at home with your own).
• Books and magazines.
• If you have hobbies you enjoy, for example craft or writing, it is a good idea to bring whatever you need.
• You may also wish to bring some small personal items, such as family photographs or small ornaments, to help you stay in touch with home life.

There are some items that we do not allow at Schoen Clinic York, our team will advise about these prior to admission.

Visiting policy

• Relatives must book visits with the receptionist to ensure rooms are available. We have a room which can be booked for visits from family, friends and carers.
• Visits will usually take place between 6pm-8pm weekdays, and weekends outside of protected mealtimes.
• We ask that visitors do not go directly into your bedroom without first checking in with nursing staff.
• Children are not allowed on the unit. All visits with children must take place off the unit and with agreement of the nurse in charge of that shift.
• We request that visits do not disrupt your therapeutic programme (especially mealtimes), or your need for time and individual space to unwind from the day.
• You are responsible for your family members, friends and carers when they visit the unit. Disruptive visitors will be asked to leave.
• Limited car parking is available at Schoen Clinic York. 

Our treatment model is based on the principle that no single intervention is sufficient, on its own, to overcome an eating disorder. It consists of multiple components which all fit together. An integrated approach is used to address all the aspects and impacts of an eating disorder: behaviour, emotions, consequences, the relationship to life events and the effect on loved ones.

At the core of this model is the multidisciplinary team (MDT). The MDT brings together all the different supports and interventions, considers how everything is working, enables you to share your views and plans for your ongoing care once you return home.

You will be allocated to an MDT on admission, and you will be invited to weekly meetings, where you will be encouraged to participate and share your views. Additionally, there will be a Care Programme Approach (CPA) every six to eight weeks, where your treatment goals and care will be thoroughly reviewed, incorporating your views. Your family and carers are welcome to join these meetings if you would like them to. Your community team will usually attend to ensure everyone is working together, treatment goals are clear and your hospital admission is no longer than necessary.

Agreeing the aims of your admission

We will work closely with you, your community care coordinator and your carers to agree the aims of your admission. This is central to our approach, enabling everyone to work together and for you to be in hospital for the least amount of time required to achieve treatment aims.

Ahead of an admission, you will be contacted to explore the aims of treatment from your perspective. We believe that everyone is different, and we need to really understand you in order to be able to offer the right support for your recovery.

For those that are more ambivalent about recovery, we hope to explore this further with you through a variety of different treatment approaches.

Working on the principle of having shared treatment aims, we have two programmes, each with specific aims. These are the Recovery Programme and the Assessment and Treatment Programme.

The recovery programme

The recovery programme is designed for people who are motivated to overcome their eating disorder and are willing to commit to return to a minimum healthy weight. A different programme, called the Assessment and Treatment Programme is designed for people who need urgent intervention but are not necessarily ready for recovery.

We recognise that your needs, motivation and capacity may change during treatment, so you can move from one programme to the other within our service at Schoen Clinic York. The Care Programme Approach (CPA) is embedded in the way we work. This means that, every six to eight weeks, there will be a CPA meeting to ensure everyone is still working towards the agreed goals and to establish treatment aims for the next period of six to eight weeks.

The assessment and treatment programme

This is a programme for people who may not feel ready for the recovery programme but need support and treatment to stabilise and stay safe.

You may be experiencing some impacts of malnutrition which present a significant risk to your health. We will work with you to monitor your physical health and support you to stabilise. It may be necessary to clarify your diagnosis and to build understanding of your needs and the difficulties you are experiencing.

Patients on this programme may have low levels of motivation to overcome their eating disorder and may be detained for treatment under the Mental Health Act. If this is the case, we will work with you to ensure your rights are upheld and the least restrictive treatment option is provided. 

There is some weight gain to enable your health to stabilise, although usually less weight gain than on the Recovery programme. Length of admission is usually a little shorter and we will work closely with your community team to enable you to return home once you are medically safe.

However, if your feelings around motivation change, we can assess whether it is appropriate for you to transfer to the Recovery programme.

What can I expect from treatment?

On both programmes, you can expect a high level of care, treatment and support. This encompasses:

• A pre-admission assessment.
• The first four to six weeks will be considered an assessment period, during which time we will develop a deeper formulation of your difficulties and a programme will be agreed with you and your clinical team.
• Physical health monitoring.
• Psychological and occupational therapies.
• Dietetic support and counselling.
• Medical and nursing interventions.
• Use of medication where appropriate.

Your family and people who are important to you will be involved and supported according to your wishes.

1. Your referral

Having read about our services you may feel Schoen Clinic York is the right place for you.

As such, we need a written referral from a healthcare professional, such as a Consultant Psychiatrist, Care Coordinator, GP or Social Worker. We would recommend you speak with them about the option of being referred to Schoen Clinic York.

If you're not engaged with any services and do not currently have a healthcare professional working with you, we would recommend going to see your GP who is the person best positioned to help you get support.

2. Initial assessment

Once a referral is received, one of our clinical team will check you are suitable for treatment at Schoen Clinic York. You will then be invited in for an assessment. We will liaise with you to arrange a suitable time for this to happen and it also gives you an opportunity to see the hospital itself.

On admission, we will work with you to develop your care plan with the goal of preparing you for a successful discharge once you are on the road to recovery, following a programme of group and individual sessions and treatments.

Contact Schoen Clinic York today on +44 20 4571 7966, email yor-enquiries@schoen-clinic.co.uk or referrers can email referrals directly and confidentially to schoenclinicyork.referrals@nhs.net

To get started with private treatment, simply fill out our online pre-screening questionnaire any time to suit you. Click here.