NHS Tayside has denied there are plans in place to close a multi-million-pound mental health unit at Stracathro Hospital which only opened four years ago.
The health board has dismissed rumours that a decision has been taken to shut the Mulberry Unit for adult mental health although it confirmed a Tayside-wide review of mental health facilities is under way.
The Mulberry Unit is the largest unit at the Susan Carnegie Centre at Stracathro with 25 beds for acute admission, assessment and treatment for adults with mental health problems.
The state of the art Susan Carnegie Centre was opened in December 2011 at a cost of £20 million and also contains the Willow Unit for people with dementia and the Rowan Unit for older people with mental health problems.
Addressing rumours that have been circulating in Angus, NHS Tayside’s director of mental health, Dr Karen Ozden, said no decisions have been taken.
She said: “There has been no decision made to close Mulberry Unit.
“The strategic vision for clinical mental health services in NHS Tayside is to continue to ensure the largest majority of care and treatment is delivered to people in their own homes and local communities.
“Over the past two years NHS Tayside has been reviewing its existing clinical models of care across the whole of Tayside and considering how to make best use of the facilities through our Mental Health Improvement Programme.
“This programme of work has been undertaken to further strengthen our services and work with partners so that we can continue to provide safe and effective patient care that is sustainable in the longer term.
“As part of this programme, our clinicians and mental health managers have looked at our clinical pathways, service models and workforce requirements, as well as our facilities and accommodation.
“We have been out talking to staff in our mental health facilities across Tayside and there are further staff sessions arranged over the next few weeks. We have also met with service users, carers and local groups to get their views on the work which has been undertaken so far, and another session is planned in the coming weeks.”
Dr Ozden said the views and opinions gathered will be incorporated into a report along with the options for future mental health services in Tayside, which will be presented to NHS Tayside Board for consideration in the spring.
“Following any decisions made by NHS Tayside Board to make changes to the services, there will then be a further period of wider engagement and information sharing across communities in Tayside,” she added.