Mental health units to close in shake-up

By William Smith

Mental health wards at eight hospitals in Lancashire could close under plans for a major shake-up of services according to bbc.co.uk/news.

Four new or redeveloped units in Blackburn, Blackpool, Lancaster or central Lancashire would be the destination for in-patient treatment.

The reorganisation would focus treatment on community-based services which health bosses say showed as being effective. It could take up to five years to implement these proposals, subject to consultation.

Lancashire Care NHS Trust said that around £23m a year is already spent on community-based mental health services and this would be strengthened under the plans.

The trust added that too many people were staying in hospital when the evidence suggested community treatment provided better results.

In a letter to primary care trusts, health bosses said that about 4,000 people in Lancashire needed in-patient treatment in 2010 but that the figure was reducing year-on-year. Up to 450 mental health in-patient beds are currently provided at 10 sites across the county.

The proposals were based on extensive clinical evidence and feedback from patients said Heather Tierney-Moore, trust chief executive.

She added ‘In-patient beds are very specialist and used b proportionately very few people and so, like other specialist health services, it is not possible to provide them locally to everyone’.

The current proposals make the in-patient capacity most accessible to the two populations with the highest need: Blackpool and Blackburn. These locations have good access from other parts of Lancashire, including Burnley and Preston,’ Heather Tierney-Moore said.

‘This is about serving the needs of the county-wide population as effectively as possible within the resources that we have.’

The proposals will now be examined by the county’s health overview and scrutiny committees and have been agreed by Lancashire’s five primary care trusts.

The proposed in-patient facility closures are:

Ribbleton Hospital
Chorley Hospital
Ormskirk Hospital
Burnley General Hospital
Blackpool Victoria Hospital
Lytham Hospital
Ridge Lea Hospital, Lancaster
Altham Meadows, Morecambe

There would be a minimum of 262 beds at four sites under the re-organisation. These would be:

Whyndyke Farm, Blackpool (new build)
Royal Blackburn Hospital (refurbished facility)
Pathfinders Drive, Lancaster
Central Lancashire (new build – site to be determined)

Cutting in-patient beds from 450 to 262 is a huge reduction for in-patient treatment. Hopefully the extended community-based treatment will have sufficient funds and skills to deal with the additional work-load placed upon them if this shake-up goes ahead.