'Fight not over' to retain local mental health beds at St Mark's Hospital

The Royal Borough is 'deeply disappointed' by the report that mental health beds at St Mark's Hospital, Maidenhead, are likely to be scrapped and the service moved to Reading's Prospect Park Hospital.

However Cllr Simon Dudley, Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, said the fight wasn't over: "The council is committed to local services for local people and we will be making the strongest possible objection to any proposal to close Charles Ward at St Mark's."

He said: "It is ridiculous to ask people with mental health issues to trek all the way to Reading for treatment when there is an excellent service locally which is convenient for both them and their families."

Three options for the future of mental health in-patient facilities in East Berkshire were offered in last year's consultation run by Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which has to make more than £20 million of savings in the next three years.

The options were:
• Option 1 - moving all in-patient services to the purpose-built Prospect Park Hospital, Reading
• Option 2 - moving all services to Prospect Park, except for those in Charles Ward, St Mark's Hospital, which would be redecorated and re-furnished
• Option 3 - build a new mental health unit at Upton Hospital, Slough.

Cllr Dudley said the council backed option 2 - the only one to offer a locally-based service to borough residents and wrote to the trust to underline this support.

He said: "While we fully appreciate the high quality services at Prospect Park and the trust's need to make economies, we don't accept that closing Charles Ward is the best way forward for patients in the Royal Borough. Closure will seriously undermine local health provision for our residents and potentially put up unnecessary barriers to treatment for many people who are already going through difficult times."

The option to retain Charles Ward was supported by the Adult, Community Services and Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel when it met on 14 September 2010.

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