Mum slams ward closure

1:00pm Friday 15th June 2007

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A MUM has hit out at the closure of a mental health unit in Amersham and says more staff should be brought in to keep it open.

The mum-of-two, from Prestwood, who did not wish to be named, has a 24-year-old daughter who is a patient at the Haleacre unit in Whielden Street.

“We need to keep this unit open for the benefit of patients and families who live in the Amersham and High Wycombe areas."

Mum of patient

Two weeks ago Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (OBMH) agreed to shut down Haleacre's adult inpatient Frith ward because it was "unfit for purpose". It said more than £1 million was needed to remove areas where patients could potentially harm themselves.

But the mum, a 47-year-old carer, contested this saying patients could be kept safe if more staff were employed to keep an eye on them.

"It is just as likely for a suicidal patient to hurt themselves with their own possessions, cigarette lighters, aerosols - even nail varnish can be inhaled. You cannot take away all the dangers, it's impossible. The only way to make a ward safer is to have more staff."

She is also concerned the ahead of schedule closure, which will see patients transferred to Aylesbury or Oxford, will have a huge knock on effect on her and other patients' families.

Her daughter, who was moved from the Frith ward to Aylesbury's Tindal Centre on Wednesday, has a two-year-old girl and she says it will be incredibly difficult now for the two to meet up.

She added: "We need to keep this unit open for the benefit of patients and families who live in the Amersham and High Wycombe areas. Keeping in regular contact with their family is a major part of recovery for these mentally ill persons who, in the majority of cases cannot speak up for themselves."

David Bradley, chief operating officer for OBMH, said: "The Trust remains committed to talking to individual patients who have been moved from Frith Ward and their families and carers regarding transport. If families and carers need support with transport they should contact the ward manager.

"The issue of safety on Frith Ward is as a result of the environment and not staffing issues. When Frith is closed staffing levels at the Tindal Centre in Aylesbury will be increased.

"The aim of our inpatient services is to provide care for patients who are experiencing an acute episode of mental illness and help them to return home so that they are closer to their families and friends."