Objectives: To describe a new type of acute inpatient unit, the Acute Recovery Unit, at the Concord Centre for Mental Health, Sydney and to report patient characteristics and outcome data for the first 18 months of operation.
Methods: The mission, values, principles of care and operation of the Acute Recovery Unit are presented, including the lessons from a review of the first 18 months of operation. The specialist assessment procedure, academic detailing and range of specialist interventions are described.