To all concerned about the future of Healthcare Services within the East Riding area....Where will it all stop?  There is something new every day; another health service hit be cost saving cuts; the NHS is in meltdown; we will all suffer in the future,

Mick Pilling

HEALTH chiefs have been accused of misleading patients over the future of mental health services in the East Riding. The Humber Mental Health Teaching NHS Trust said earlier this month it was about to launch a public consultation exercise about the way mental health and learning disability services are provided in the region.

Yesterday, it could not say what form the consultation document would take but campaigners have obtained a leaked document which reveals plans to axe an in-patient unit in Goole for people with severe mental health problems, and to close at least one mental health ward at Bridlington Hospital.

The eight-page document, dated February 23, was pinned to a staff noticeboard at Bridlington Hospital and is headed: Consultation On The East Riding Division, Proposed Restructure And Service Re-Design.

Under a section headed Service Delivery are a string of proposals, including the closure of Bart's House in Goole by summer, and the closure of the Waters Ward at Bridlington. A question mark has been placed next to Bridlington's other mental health ward, Buckrose.

Mick Pilling , of the Save Bridlington Hospital Campaign Action Group , said: "This confirms what we have been saying for years; the trusts try to do everything by stealth and by the back door, and it's about time they came clean.

"We need to get this in the public domain before the consultation so we can fight it at the sharp end. There are 12 beds on each of those wards and 34 staff between them. At the very least, this means 17 people are going to lose their jobs and I know the staff are very upset about it.

"As we have said all along, patients in Bridlington, Driffield and Hornsea are going to find themselves moved to Hull or stuck in their own homes. We don't believe in closing these wards or having care in the community, because people with mental health problems are vulnerable and often unable to look after themselves."

A trust spokeswoman said the document was probably out of date and it intended to launch the consultation exercise on Monday.

She said some wards were often under-used and that on average, only four beds on the Waters Ward were occupied at any one time.

She said the trust was "looking at moving away from hospital-based institutionalised care to more community services which reflect patients' needs." The proposals would see the introduction of new "home intensive treatment teams" and "assertive outreach teams" for adults and older people, she said.

Trust director of nursing and service delivery Angie Mason said: "This is about using public money in a much more effective way. At the moment the only option for many people needing urgent mental health care in the East Riding is an admission to hospital, which is not always appropriate. This can mean long periods away from home, work and social networks.

"Introducing these new community teams means we can help people resolve their problems through home assessment and treatment as an alternative to hospital admission. We have already successfully piloted this approach in Hedon with a great many hospital admissions avoided, which is what people tell us they prefer."

The results of a public consultation exercise on other services at Bridlington Hospital, carried out by Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, will be revealed at Bridlington Leisure World on Tuesday 3rd April, 2007 @ 2.00pm.