The Grove, a six-place NHS day service for adults with eating disorders, has opened at St Michael's Hospital, Warwick, running weekdays 8am to 4pm.

Adults with eating disorders in Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth now have a new NHS treatment option between outpatient appointments and a hospital bed. The Grove, a day treatment service, has opened in Warwick.

Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust (CWPT) launched it on 29 September. Two service users cut the ribbon at the opening.

What The Grove offers

The trust’s announcement sets out how it works:

  • where: Rosewood, on the St Michael’s Hospital site in Warwick, for now
  • when: Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm
  • how many: up to six people at a time
  • who for: adults who need more support than standard outpatient care
  • what: psychological therapy, meal support and recovery activities, in a group setting

People go home each evening. The trust says the aim is to keep them close to family and their own community while they get intensive treatment.

It also says The Grove should cut the need for hospital admission where that is clinically right. And it will support people leaving inpatient care as they settle back at home.

Why it matters

The trust has run eating disorder services for years. What it lacked was a step between the two ends.

“For many years we have identified a gap between outpatient and inpatient eating disorder care,” said Hannah Andrews, the trust’s head of service for eating disorder services.

“Many people with eating disorders spend extended periods in hospital, often away from family and support networks,” she said. “This service enables individuals to access structured treatment during the day while continuing to live at home.”

Richard Onyon, the trust’s chief medical officer, said it “expands the range of specialist eating disorder services available across Coventry and Warwickshire”.

The service was developed with SupportED, the West Midlands provider collaborative for eating disorders.

It will move to Coventry

Warwick is a temporary home. The trust says The Grove will relocate to the Caludon Centre in Coventry in future, to sit closer to its inpatient eating disorder services. It has not given a date.

For families in Leamington and Warwick, that means the service is a short trip for now. The Caludon Centre is in Coventry, about ten miles north of Leamington.

What it means for you

  • This is a specialist service. The trust’s announcement does not describe a self-referral route. If you are worried about yourself or someone close to you, start with your GP.
  • Places are limited to six at a time, so it is for people whose clinicians judge they need intensive support.
  • The national charity Beat runs helplines and online support for people with eating disorders and their families.
  • For other health services in town, see our Leamington news section.