Not financial reasons LCFT? Tsk!

First of all, Beds in the Orchard would like to send an apology to Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust.  We have previously stated that the Trust closed 15 bed male ward in Burnley.  It now turns out that Ward 18 held 22 beds.  We are assuming that the Trust were happy with this misinformation as they haven't corrected it.

However, we think that the Trust owe Beds in the Orchard an apology for stating publicly on BBC Radio that these changes have not been for financial reasons.


http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/11077649.Burnley_mental_health_ward_still_set_to_close/?ref=rss

In the above Lancashire Telegraph article from March this year, it states...

"Ward 18 was due to close this year, saving £720,000 for the Trust's in year 7.45million cost improvement plan. But it has been confirmed the plans are slightly behind schedule – though the ward is still expected to finally close this year"

This makes it quite clear that the closure was indeed for financial reasons.  The article goes on further to state,

"Trust chiefs have been working on a programme to provide more community services, decreasing the need for in-patient beds."

We have submitted a FOI request to find out how the Crisis and other home treatment teams have been augmented in the East Lancs area to meet the needs of service users affected by this closure.

Finally, on the subject of the ward closure, the Trust says.

"The closure will only take place when it is clinically appropriate to do so."

We've heard that phrase before as we've been told that the 6 beds in The Orchard unit will revert back to female "when it is clinically appropriate to do so."

"Clinically appropriate", in our opinion, appears to be a meaningless phrase used to defend cuts to services.  The female service users of North Lancashire appear to be the victims of these "clinically appropriate" decisions.

"It is not the intention for this to run for weeks and weeks"

We've spent this evening going over Claire's interview on BBC Radio Lancashire and the response to our campaign from Keith Dibble, the Deputy Director of the Lancashire Care NHS Trust.

We were going to post a long reply, but can actually summarise quite swiftly.

The County
There were a number of mentions by Keith about the County, for example  "Balance across the county" and  "Cross county requirement".

If there is a cross county requirement then removing 15 male beds will have changed the balance across the county of male beds. 

We'll be submitting a FOI request about how many men from the Burnley area are being treated in the west and north of the county.

Home Treatment
Home treatment is indeed preferable.  Sadly the crisis and home treatment teams are not augmented when beds are closed.  Existing teams have an ever expanding case-load and less people are expected to look after more Service Users.

We doubt that when the male beds in Burnley were closed, the home treatment teams were expanded in that area and we doubt that when the female beds were closed in Lancaster that the home treatment teams were expanded in that area either.

Another Freedom of Information Request will be sent out tomorrow so we can confirm that to you.
(Our FOI person is going to have a busy day)

Clinical Priorities
Beds in the Orchard has never suggested that people requiring PICU care etc. should be treated at The Orchard.  We all have personal experience of being unwell and know that some women need to be treated in specialist units.

However the women being sent away from Lancaster for treatment do not all need specialist treatment and they would benefit more from local care. 

It appears that the trust position is that the Clinical Priorities are caring for the men of North Lancashire after the balance across the county was tipped by the closure of male beds.


Length of Closure
Keith stated that it is "Not the intention for this to run for weeks and weeks."

This goes against information we have been given, but will be pleased if this turns out to be correct.  We will continue to campaign for the female beds at The Orchard to be reopened until provision for women is restored and also to ensure that this statement from the trust is upheld.

We will continue to actively publicise the closure of the beds by the Trust and we will be further investigating at the treatment of women in Mental Health Services run by the Lancashire Care NHS Trust.

Financial Reasons
Keith said there were no financial reasons for the closure of beds.  However, since the Trust has to deliver a 25% cut in expenditure as directed by the Department of Health, we suspect that financial pressures may well be involved. 

There's no trusting the Trust

A Source at the Lancashire Care NHS Trust today said that closing The Orchard to women is a 'temporary measure' until the new hospital "The Harbour" is opened in Blackpool.

This is a step away from the previous reasons of protecting the vulnerable, but could cover their reason of it being 'based on need'.

So why do they need more male beds now?

Following further enquires and investigation, we discovered that just weeks before The Orchard was closed to women, they closed Ward 18, a 15 bed male psychiatric ward in Burnley, with no means to cater for the number of beds they knew they needed.

If the Trust closes male beds, they should mitigate that closure by providing treatment in the community to the men they otherwise should have admitted as inpatients.  Instead, they withdrew inpatient care to women of a large area of the trust. This is not acceptable.

It's the women of North Lancashire who are paying for this cost saving exercise.  It is the women of North Lancashire who are being denied local treatment and its their families who are paying the cost in time, travel and disruption for this decision.

Lancashire Care is failing in its duty of care to the women it is meant to treat and support.

It has to change.