More than 450 people have signed up to a self-help group set up in the wake of a mental health unit closure in Angus.
Brechin Community Council said the response to the Stop Mental Health Stigma association exposed a “huge gap” in services required by people suffering from depression.
Chairwoman Jill Scott said it was a “scandal” that sufferers were having to “sort out their situation” themselves following the shutdown of the Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital.
Angus Health and Social Care Partnership hit back at the criticism and said it was “encouraging” that a local group of people had come together to support one another and address mental health stigma.
Mrs Scott said: “It is a very sad reflection on Angus Health and Social Care Partnership that at a time when the mental health of our community is a growing concern that the first rate Mulberry Unit is being hived off for alternative use.
“Members of the public, sufferers of depression and people of influence in Angus Health and Social Care Partnership all recognise the problem but it comes down to the patients themselves who are having to sort out their situation.
“I am full of admiration, as an individual, as is Brechin Community Council, for these people but I despair for the future.
“It is a scandal that mental health is treated as a poor relation. Patients have been hung out to dry.”
The Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital in Angus was finally closed earlier this year and patients were transferred to the Carseview Centre in Dundee.
Richard May, 45, who suffers from depression, set up Stop Mental Health Stigma three weeks ago and his ultimate goal is to eventually put in place a 24-hour mental health facility.
“There is just not enough being done for people struggling with mental health issues,” he said.
“Too many suffer in silence and feel alone but we are getting people out of their houses and it’s changing lives in a very positive way.”
The group meet in Montrose on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Brechin on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Mr May, who lives in Montrose, started the group after being overwhelmed by the response when he put up a Facebook post admitting he was suffering from depression.
Bill Troup, Head of Mental Health Services, Angus Community Health Partnership said “self-management” is an element of mental health treatment.
He added: “Other local services that are available in Angus include self help groups, listening services, health and wellbeing, befriending and community mental health.
“Multidisciplinary Community Mental Health Teams are available in every town in Angus.
“It is important to remember that only six out of every 100 people who access mental health services each year need hospital care.
“With a greater focus on recovery and improved mental wellbeing in communities most people with a mental health problem are treated at home or in the community.”
