Care centre closure sparks review of Telford mental health services
Mental health services in Telford & Wrekin are to be reviewed following the temporary closure of one of the borough's day care centres.
Castle Lodge, in Dawley, shut its doors to inpatients last month and will remain closed for the forseeable future.
The move raised concerns over the future of mental health services in the borough and led to a meeting between Telford & Wrekin Council, South Staffordshire & Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (SSSHFT), Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Telford MP David Wright.
It was decided that a review of mental health services by Telford & Wrekin Council and the CCG would give a better understanding of how local needs can be met.
David Wright, MP for Telford said: "The future of Castle Lodge is extremely important for Telford residents. I was shocked to learn it was closed, even temporarily, and I hope we can review the mental health strategy and see if the service can be continued."
The report will involve service users and carers and will be overseen by the borough's Health and Wellbeing Board with the involvement of the independent group Telford & Wrekin Healthwatch.
Councillor Richard Overton, chairman of the health and wellbeing board, said: "Our discussions on local mental health services and the use of Castle Lodge were very helpful and I am pleased that we have agreed to consider the views of a very wide range of people before making any recommendations to ensure that future direction is the best for service users and the community."
Dr Mike Innes Chair of Telford and Wrekin CCG, said: "We will be keen to hear views from patients, clinicians and the voluntary sector to ensure we are buying mental health services that meet the needs of residents in Telford and Wrekin.
"We recognise that with an increasing ageing population and more people developing long term conditions including dementia, we need to ensure patients have access to quality mental health care closer to home.
"Wherever possible we want to help patients receive support through community based mental health teams that can help prevent patients being admitted to hospital."
Castle Lodge, in Dawley, was shut last month for a period of six months after the trust running it said it was under-used.
