“Don’t deny the evidence! Don’t ignore the risks! Don’t close Broomhill House”, chanted protesters as people arrived for the Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust board meeting, where a decision would be made about closing the fifth and sixth mental health rehabilitation units in Notts in five years.
The discussion inside the meeting showed a lack of rigour and understanding of mental health services. It seemed to be presented that the way to build on the excellent service provided by Broomhill House was to close it: “We have already closed 71 rehab beds in Notts” so closing a few more would not be a problem!
The Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health’s recommendation of one mental health unit per 300,000 of population was discredited in favour of Notts’ Clinical Commissioning group’s “systems mapping”, which could not provide a recommended figure.
The closure of Broomhill House and another mental health unit in Mansfield will mean that there is one remaining mental health unit in Notts, a region of 786,000 people.
‘Friends of Broomhill’ are organising a public meeting for Mental Health Fortnight (5 – 18 October), bringing together service users, carers, and anyone campaigning to defend mental health services. For more information contact Chris Jackson on 07905 298 137.
