A FORMER nurse who worked on a mental health facility which is at risk of closure says the issues raised by an NHS Trust ‘could have been put right’.

Yewdale Ward, at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, has been deemed ‘no longer fit for purpose’ to deliver modern health care services.

The 16-bed ward provides support to men and women with severe mental health issues.

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust say concerns have been raised for many years over the ability to provide high quality, safe services in west Cumbria.

Issues cited by the Trust include men and women still being housed and treated together and the facility being ‘too isolated" from other mental health services.

But Lynn Fisher, a former mental health nurse on Yewdale Ward, who now works for a third sector organisation which provides health and wellbeing sessions in the community, says the issues are ‘historic’ and could have been rectified.

She said: “It’s been a mixed ward forever. You would have thought if there was an intention to put that right, they would have done it before they moved to where they are now.

“Even when I worked on there, the need for restraint was very rare so the risks weren’t as big. That’s a last resort, anyway.

“I don’t think any of the reasons are good enough because they could have put those things right.”

A new 24/7 hub funded by NHS England will open in Whitehaven later this year as part of a pilot to provide more mental health support in local communities.

But Ms Fisher says there will still be people who need to go into hospital despite the work carried out in community-based services.

She said: “It’s really good that they want to work on prevention rather than people having to be hospitalised but it’s going to need a really robust service with huge injections of cash.

“I know people who are having to go out of county now and that’s when we’ve still got Yewdale Ward. It’s a long way away when they are isolated from family and people who can visit for extra support.

“Life is really tough at the moment anyway, for most people. If you’re already vulnerable and you’ve got problems with your mental health, it’s an extra worry. It’s an awful way to treat people who through no fault of their own, are likely to need care.”

Josh MacAlister, the MP for Whitehaven and Workington, said he had visited the ward to meet staff and patients and heard their concerns about the planned closure. He is also meeting the CEO of the Trust and visiting the ward with him on November 15.

James Duncan, chief executive at CNTW, said: “No decisions have been made yet about changes to Yewdale Ward. Decisions will be guided by our desire to deliver the best care and support that we can, with the resources we have available.

“Our priority is to do everything we can to make services in West Cumbria better for those who need them. We need to start by recognising the quality and safety issues we face today, and the opportunity to deliver better mental health support for the communities that we serve over the coming years.

“We want to do this in collaboration with our staff, service users, carers, stakeholders and local people, to help us shape the future of mental health services in Cumbria to be the very best they can be.

“This is why we are encouraging people to visit our website to learn more about the challenges facing these services, and seek their views: www.cntw.nhs.uk/news/we-want-your-thoughts-on-mental-health-services-in-cumbria/  

“There are also details on that webpage about some listening events we are holding in West Cumbria, which we invite everyone to come along to.”