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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Barnes Hospital under threat of closure
January 22, 2011 11:23 AM
• [Jan 22] OLDER people in Richmond with mental health needs may lose valued inpatient facilities in Barnes, as plans to cut down on hospital sites were put forward this week by SW London and St Georges Mental Health Trust.
A ward for dementia sufferers at Barnes Hospital has already been closed, and in the future patients may have to go out of borough to whichever sites remain out of Tolworth, Sutton, Queen Mary's Roehampton, or Springfield in Wandsworth.
Concerns were raised at Richmond Council's health scrutiny meeting on Tuesday evening that there has not yet been any consultation on these closures. If Barnes were to close permanently, remaining options, particularly Tolworth or Springfield, would be very difficult for Richmond residents to get to. Cllr Liz Jaeger, opposition spokesperson for health and social care, said:
'Following hot on the heels of the Tory council's plans to close Tangley Hall, here we have another proposal to close a local facility for older patients with mental illness. Inpatient bed numbers are planned to reduce, on the assumption that there will be increased care in the community to prevent hospital admissions. On the face of it, this really doesn't look like a very joined up strategy. I challenge our local authority and NHS Richmond to clearly explain how they see our local dementia services meeting needs in the future,'
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