'Isolated' mental health ward to close
BBCAn acute mental health ward in west Cumbria will close in the coming months after NHS officials approved the move.
The 16-bed Yewdale Ward at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven will shut, with extra beds due to be added in other facilities, mainly in Carlisle more than 40 miles away.
The Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW) said there were concerns around safety and the quality of care at the ward.
Labour MP for Whitehaven and Workington Josh MacAlister said the closure should be paused until the trust could show it had reduced demand for acute services.
A report by CNTW said the fact the ward was mixed-sex posed "sexual safety" concerns, that the trust had struggled for years to recruit psychiatric consultants and that the building was deteriorating.
Officials added the ward was "isolated" on a site that lacked other mental health facilities and was costing more to run than the trust could afford.
The report said 12 new beds would be provided at Carlisle's Carleton Clinic and a further four would open at the planned new Hope Haven centre in Whitehaven.
The trust said those at Hope Haven would not be "acute" beds for people with intense needs, but for those who are "starting to struggle".
'Dangerous decision'
Jessica Graham, who was a patient at the Yewdale Ward in 2015, said the decision to close it was "dangerous".
"Around here there's not many services for people who are struggling," she said.
The 28-year-old from Cockermouth described the care she received as "amazing" and credited it with saving her life.
Mr MacAlister said the changes proposed by the trust would lead to an overall reduction in acute mental health beds in Cumbria.
"That will result in some of my constituents needing to travel far too far to get that crisis help and support and that's just not acceptable," he said.
James Duncan, CNTW's chief executive, admitted the changes would mean fewer acute beds in Cumbria, but an extra six would be provided in the north-east of England.
He said: "We need to ensure the staffing is right, the support is right and we can't deliver all of those things on a consistent basis on the Yewdale site due to its isolation."
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