A spokesperson for the trust said Wessex House’s closure comes after significant investment in seven-day community and school-based services.
They said the use of the unit’s beds had fallen to about one child from Somerset per month and said fewer than six of the unit’s 12 beds were occupied when it closed.
“Much of this is due to the investment and developments in our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) urgent care pathway, where the vast majority of young people in Somerset receive intensive support in their own homes and communities,” the spokesperson added.
They said Somerset Camhs has close links with hospitals in Plymouth and Portsmouth where inpatient beds will remain available for young people from the West who need them.
So far this year, one young person from Somerset has been admitted to hospital in Devon with wraparound support from their local team, according to the trust.