Councillors are concerned about the planned closure of a mental health facility in Lincolnshire, as patients would move from inpatient to community-based care.
Ashley House in Grantham, which provided support for patients with severe and enduring mental illness, was closed during COVID.
Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (LPFT) runs the facility and is currently reviewing its mental health services and has put forward two options for the facility – to reopen it and restore the former service, or to close it.
Closing the service would save the trust £33,000 and would see its community rehabilitation service expanded to cover more areas of Lincolnshire.
During a meeting of Lincolnshire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday, Councillor Mark Guy Allan raised concerns about the negative consequences within the community from the new model – particularly for patients lacking a local support structure.
“I’m sure that there are lots of people who have the support from their families and friends, and probably treatment in the community is more appropriate, appropriate, and probably preferable… but equally, I think there are quite a number of people who probably don’t have that support. ”
Cllr Tom Smith raised concerns about the worst-affected patients travelling further for services, saying the new model was dependent on reallocating resources and recruiting additional workforce, which may not be guaranteed.
He worried that once the changes were made they would be difficult to reverse.
Councillor Stephen Woodliffe also raised concerns about Maple Lodge, which has been treating some of the service’s patients, and whether it would also close.
Bosses said there were currently no plans around Maple Lodge, but the trust would continue to ensure people were treated in their communities as much as possible.
Chris Higgins said: “What we’ve known for some time is that there’s a bit of a gap where people will be in an inpatient unit that’s providing 24-hour care with doctors, nurses and other professionals supporting them.
“But then the next step is into the community, where they’re often living independently reliant upon other services that are not as intensive and can’t provide that level of support.”
“It’s about enabling people to live with their mental health condition, and often developing the skills that’s needed to live an independent life, whether that’s budgeting or access to education and employment,” said Sarah Connery, LPFT’s Chief Executive Officer.
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