£8million Mental Health Cuts Row

Up to £8million is set to be slashed from the care of mentally ill people. Beds are set to close and a walk-in service could go as Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust battles to save £6million to £8million over the next three years.

This has been greeted as “the best of a worst deal” by Peter Jones, chairman of independent mental health monitor iBUG (Islington Borough User Group).

He said: “They have gone for a very high risk strategy of closing beds. But if you close beds and somebody leaves too early and they are very ill, there could be dire consequences.The money should not leave mental health.”

The trust already had to make £6million in savings this financial year – and sold a former nursing home in Haringey. It has to make further cuts because Islington Primary Care Trust (PCT) is reducing funding by £1.1million over the next two years, while Camden PCT is demanding a cut of £1.2million in 2007-8.

This comes on top of normal efficiency savings of two to three per cent a year and extra costs stemming from national pay deals and the new Highgate Mental Health Centre.

Cost-cutting plans include cutting inpatient beds, imposing a 28-day cap on how long people stay in psychiatric intensive care, and axing the walk-in service from the Tottenham Mews centre off Tottenham Court Road – which Mr Jones said was well-used by the homeless.

A dedicated women’s service is set to be established – which will include buying women’s psychiatric intensive care from the private sector in the short-term.

Other moves include reducing temporary staff and cutting corporate and administrative costs by 10 per cent.

Chief executive Wendy Wallace said: “As a result of funding pressures we are faced with a significant cost improvement programme for the period through to 2010. We need to make sure we get full value from every pound.”