A mental health patient from Angus has told of the vital need to keep the closure-threatened Mulberry Unit open.
Adele Douglas, 25, from Forfar, said closing the unit at Stracathro Hospital permanently would bring “more stress” to patients and their families.
NHS Tayside temporarily shut the Angus facility in February due to junior doctor shortages and had already put the it under the microscope as it considered closing one or two of its three adult mental health centres.
The preferred option now identified and supported by NHS Tayside clinical staff is for a single site at the Carseview Centre in Dundee, which would mean the closure of the Mulberry Unit and the Moredun ward in Perth.
Ms Douglas, who is currently a patient at Carseview, said: “I feel the closure of the Mulberry Unit will not only affect the patients but also their families.
“Family and friends have to travel further to visit their loved ones and not a lot of families have much money and may not afford the petrol costs.”
She said it was “vital” to keep the Mulberry Unit open and praised the “amazing” staff at the facility.
“At the Carseview Centre we don’t have a garden like we did in the Mulberry,” she added.
“We get out in an area which is a passing place for the other ward, whereas in the Mulberry there were two gardens where patients can get air whenever they like – it was more open.”
Local campaigners Joanne McFadden and David May – who have been fighting to keep the unit open – joined the growing chorus of discontent.
Ms McFadden said: “As someone who has campaigned to save the Mulberry Unit, a mix of emotions come to the fore – anger, disappointment, sadness, but not surprise.
“We were told the Mulberry Unit was at greatest risk of closure over a year ago by NHS Tayside managers at one of the first meetings the campaign group had with them and I have been warning about this happening since that meeting.
“At the meeting we were told the closure was solely an issue of ‘patient safety’ because there wasn’t sufficient staff to cover the care provision required and NHS Tayside were struggling to recruit and retain staff.
“Of course, we all knew that the real reason for the need for any closure was really all about cutbacks.”
Mr May said Angus residents “are rightly and clearly appalled at this recommendation”.
He said: “It is obvious that is this recommendation on closure is implemented it will mean that we will have additional travel and costs for many patients and staff and support from family and friends for patients will be more difficult.”
If the plan is approved on June 30 the consultation will be available at www.taysidementalhealthredesign.scot.nhs.uk from July 3 and run until October.
A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said she would encourage people to get involved in the consultation process.
