We're on the last straight and close to the finish!

Has it all gone quiet at Beds in the Orchard?  Not really, there's just a lot going on in the background.

The past week or so has been busy for the Beds in the Orchard team, but mainly in preparing for Christmas rather than campaigning for beds.  The Christmas trees are up, the lights are shining and the presents mostly wrapped.  Of course the main present that we want is the return of the beds to women.

So, is this going to happen?

Yes and sooner than The Harbour opening.  This is a big change from a couple of weeks ago when the Trust looked into whether they could swing the beds back and reported that it wasn't possible.  Now the information is that the CCG has said that they need to be returned to female before The Harbour opens and they are working hard for that to happen.

This is good news and there has been a lot of excitement among the team because someone from LCFT said that it would be by Christmas, but as usual there is a difference between the message via the official route and the information given to someone involved with the Campaign by other LCFT staff.

One person had a member of LCFT on speakerphone so they and their friend heard that person tell them both that the beds would definitely be open by Christmas.  The Official line from LCFT via our spokesperson is that its only a Maybe by Christmas as there are a lot of things that need doing and that the person from LCFT hadn't said it was for definite.

So who is right?
Two people heard the man from LCFT say it was for definite.  The same man has said via the official line that they didn't say it was for definite.  We think there's a bit of ass covering going on there to be honest.  One person getting the wrong end of the stick, fine, but two.  Big. Fat. HMMMMMMM. So while we agree that no one misheard what they were told over the phone, it just wasn't true and shouldn't have been said.


However this is not the important stuff! 


The important thing is that they are actually trying to reopen the beds to women by Christmas.  They can't guarantee it as it will take a lot for this to happen and sometimes these things just aren't possible.

So via our OFFICIAL LINE.

1. They are trying to close down the beds to men in order to reopen them to women. 
2. They have people who are in private beds at the moment at its important to get them back into Trust Beds.
3. They are looking into ways to reduce male admissions.
4. They have managed a small reduction at the Orchard to free up a bed.
5. They are doing what they can but can't guarantee it, so hopes should not be got up.

This smells of success!
BUT While it looks like we're going to be successful, we're not going to have any grand announcements until we have them back for sure and we know they won't be returned to men as soon as we turn our backs.

A lot of work has gone into this campaign. Some people have joined in close to the end and their input has been great, but this has been a long slog since October when we first heard about the closure.  Its taken hard work, time, lots of investigation, FOI requests, lots of legal advice and communication with the press.  We're bloody proud of what we've achieved, but there's no way that we're going to announce a victory before we've actually won for real.

So as we are down to the last bit of the whole campaign, we are going to hand over the keys to Philippa, the campaign spokesperson and founder along with Lisa and Roz, the managers and bloody scary women to deal with the Trust, so we can get on with enjoying Christmas and not get over excited before we actually get the beds back.

They'll keep you all updated, Officially updated and hopefully the news will be good and soon.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!

S's Story - Moving female patients out of town is at best ludicrous, at worst, dangerous.

As our campaign gains wider attention, we are being contacted by more local service users who were not aware of the changes or the campaign to reverse the decision.  One of those service users "S" shares her fears and concerns about this change.

This is more first hand knowledge and experience of how the changes impact on service users and their families.

Dear Beds in the Orchard,

Hope this helps/makes sense as I struggle to write when unwell.

Suggestions that moving female inpatients out of town is not damaging to patients is, at best, ludicrous and at worst dangerous.

I personally know from my struggles with bipolar II, that I can rarely attend meetings with my CPN without the support of my partner and son. They are central to my recovery. If I was shipped out of town there is no way we would have time or means to keep up contact - potentially breaking bonds with my son, that I have fought so hard to rebuild since my PND, PTSD and psychotic episode on the postnatal ward after staff saw fit to (guess what) move me! All against the advice of the MH professionals...

In spite of the rise of stay at home dads and many families successfully co-parenting; my personal experience suggests that in the majority, women run their homes, make decisions regarding children and are better placed to arrange their child's day to day activities - even those women with difficult mental health issues.

For many patients gaining control in a positive way helps their recovery - taking away this option will greatly hinder recovery, increase stress and in turn extend stays in hospital.

This should be about what is best for the patient. If I were to be moved out of town because the help and care I would recieve would be greater then of course I would consider it short term, when I'm at my very worst BUT that isn't happening here and even in the above hypothetical situation I still would need to be moved closer to home as my mental state improved in order to become stable.

For people who struggle with change and need consistency this cruel decision needs looking at again.

Temporary or not, this is a closure that should never have happened

We do wonder whether Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust is feeling more secure now. 

They have told us publicly that it’s a temporary move that won’t last for weeks and weeks.  That it’s to cope with a peak in demand for male beds, that of course has nothing to do with them closing 15 of them elsewhere in the county.  And they’ve publicly stated that it’s not having a negative impact despite the women telling them that it is.

In their eyes this is surely a non-story now.  It’s a temporary peak in demand with no impact.  Our campaign is just an overreaction by a group of women to a perfectly rational and sensible decision by the Trust. 

Now where have we heard that kind of thing before?

Women!  You are overreacting to us putting the needs of male service users before yours!
Women!  You are overreacting with your anxiety at being treated away from your homes and families!
Women!  You just don’t understand how these things work, so do go ahead and STFU now won’t you!

Well, we’re not going to shut up.

Temporary or not, the closure should never have happened.  Temporary or not, the needs of male service users are not more important than female service users.  Temporary or not, the worry and anxiety felt by the women is real and harmful. Temporary or not, the costs incurred by families to visit their relatives are real and harmful.  Temporary or not, the emotional distress of the families is real and harmful.

Temporary or not, denying women access to local inpatient care is harmful, discriminatory and should never have happened in the first place.

Temporary doesn't make it better.

"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.