More Cuts To Mental Health Service

The scale of the mental health crisis in Cambridgeshire has been revealed as new figures showed that the county’s specialist trust has lost almost one in five dedicated hospital beds in just two years.

This is the same 19 per cent proportion as the NHS in England has lost in the decade since Labour came to power in 1997. The news was greeted with shock and concern by local MPs Andrew Lansley and David Howarth.

The latest figures show that troubled Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust has lost 90 beds since March 31, 2005 – 53 in Cambridgeshire county and 37 in the Peterborough unitary local authority area. The reduction follows £3 million cuts last year.

On March 31 2005, the trust had 478 in-patient beds – 289 in the county area and 189 in Peterborough. But by March 31 this year, those figures had fallen to 388 for the whole trust – 236 in Cambridgeshire and 152 in the urban borough.

Marlowe House, a 20-bed dementia ward for older people at Fulbourn, has been closed and S4, a 22-bed adult acute admissions ward at the Addenbrooke’s site, has also been shut. No 1 The Drive/The Gatehouse and The Cedars, two adult rehabilitation wards at Fulbourn, have also been cut to save cash.

Shadow Health Secretary and Cambridgeshire South Tory MP Mr Lansley spoke out as he revealed that across the NHS in England the number of dedicated hospital mental health beds has fallen by 19 per cent between 1997-98 and 2005-06 from 36,601 to 29,802.

He said the cuts have been particularly severe since the emergence of the NHS financial crisis in 2005-06. In that year, mental health beds saw their largest annual fall since Labour came to power.

Mr Lansley said: “These figures demonstrate in the clearest terms the pressure that we know mental health services in our NHS are under. While the number of people sectioned has hit its highest level in history, the NHS financial crisis is forcing the closure of mental health beds throughout the country.

“Sadly, Labour’s plans to increase the number of people subject to compulsory treatment will only add to the pressure on mental health services. With more demand on these services, and fewer hospital beds, we will see even more people who should be cared for in hospital instead left in the community.

“I am concerned that the trust has lost one in five of its mental health beds over just the last two years. Mental health services are not just about beds. If the Government is serious about mental health, they must ensure that community and outreach services are well developed and resourced.

“But if reductions in bed numbers go too far, it will not be possible to protect the community and the mental health patients themselves as there will be insufficient hospital places for assessment and treatment.”

Cambridge City Liberal Democrat Mr Howarth said: “Mental health continues to be the Cinderella service. We have seen drastic cuts to mental health spending in Cambridgeshire. And last year, crucial services such as the Young People’s Service were cut back.

“Patients are not receiving the help they need. These latest figures for reduction in bed numbers over the last two years further illustrate the scale of the mental health crisis in Cambridgeshire.”

Julie Deloughery committed suicide in January last year, three months after being told by psychiatrists she had recovered from manic depression. She would have been 42 on April 26 and mum Janet Parr believes mental health cuts meant she did not get the care she deserved. Mrs Parr, of Newmarket Road, Cambridge, fears there will be pressure on doctors to cut hospital referrals because of bed reductions. She said: “I think their decisions will be impaired by the cuts.”

A spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust said: “It is true that we have already taken £3 million from our services but the trust has the appropriate number of beds according to advice from the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health.

“Over the past few years there have been significant changes to the treatment of people with mental health illness. We know that people respond far better to treatment if they can stay in their own home. This is backed up by national and international best practice and research evidence. We have sufficient beds for patients when admission is the most appropriate treatment.

“We have invested in new services that make home treatment possible, including partnership working with social services that allows older people to stay at home where it is clinically appropriate. This is far better for the person than being admitted to hospital.”