MP furious at cuts to provision for mental health services
31st March 2006
Mike Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, is furious at proposed cuts to mental health provision in west Hertfordshire, leaving Dacorum patients with nowhere to turn to.
Following a recent meeting with Dacorum & District Mental Health Support Group, Mike Penning condemned the proposal to close St Julian’s Ward in St Albans – a specialist ward for psychiatric patients.
“The proposed closure of St Julian’s is nothing to do with clinical care. It is a straightforward cost-cutting measure,” he said. “This will directly affect those most vulnerable in our society who will be left without the backup they need. For their carers, St Julian’s has often been the last resort for respite. They will be left with nowhere to turn to.”
St Julian’s Ward in St Albans has 22 beds and is mainly used by patients from Dacorum who need a stay in a mental health inpatient facility. If this ward is closed, only patients with very serious problems will be able to be admitted to hospital and more people will need to be cared for in the community.
Mike Penning added:
“St Julian’s is for patients who need hospitalisation. Without it they have nowhere to go for help. If anything goes wrong you can bet your life the patients will end up taking the blame”.
