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Schizophrenia patients to be treated at home as hospital beds are axed
Sophie Goodchild, Health Editor17 Feb 2009
London's top psychiatric hospital is getting rid of beds to cut costs, it was revealed today.
Health chiefs at the Maudsley aim to save £400,000 by treating more patients in the community. More than half a dozen beds at the south London hospital will go.
This means men suffering from acute disorders such as schizophrenia or manic depression will now be treated at home or in residential centres.
Managers say the move is part of a proposal aimed at improving services and meeting demand.
But campaigners warn that patients could end up resorting to private treatment - at an increased cost to the NHS.
Health Emergency branded the cuts "appalling" at a time of increased demand for mental health services.
Spokesman Geoff Martin said: "At a time when the Government is pouring in billions of pounds to bail out the banks, it's outrageous that a key mental health ward could be closed for the want of £400,000.
"Axing key services could literally be a matter of life or death for some people who have been pushed to the edge as the economy collapses."
The Maudsley Hospital is renowned worldwide for its pioneering treatments and helped treat survivors of the 7/7 London bombings for mental trauma.
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust runs the hospital and provides a total of 1,000 beds.
The trust's history goes back more than 700 years to the founding of "Bethlem" or "Bedlam" hospital - the capital's first clinic for mental patients.
The bed-cutting proposal is part of a move to "rebalance" mental health services between the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. Staff are being consulted on the changes and health chiefs have promised there will be no redundancies. The trust says it is investing more than £4 million in improvements, which include ward upgrades for women patients.
A spokesman told the Standard: "Demand for acute beds can be reduced by offering other models of care, including residential rehabilitation and home treatment services to people who would otherwise be in hospital care longer than they need or want to be."
Mental health charities said the cuts were another example of the low priority given to mental health services.
Government grants to London authorities have already been slashed by 10 per cent over the past year.
Sandi Lowring from Mind said: "Mental health beds are always under pressure. We're not yet seeing more patients with acute disorders as a result of the credit crisis.
"But it's early days and more people are already presenting with low-level problems such as anxiety."
Reader views (2)
The government has spent all our money on the corrupt and greedy bankers, the MP's and Lords expenses, their pensions and to the foreigners in Europe. The sooner we get rid of these incompetents in Parliament the better.
- Maggie, London, 17/02/2009 19:28
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As the daughter of a schizophrenic, I know that this will cause some families to live in absolute hell. Sometimes a schizophrenic can be successfully treated at home, but sometimes they can't: if they refuse their medication or the symptoms of their condition become too extreme.
Why the government can't cancel its £18billion pointless ID cards scheme and spend the money on services that will actually help the taxpayers who fund them?
- Liz, London, 17/02/2009 10:25
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