By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
Two mental health wards in Nottinghamshire are edging closer to being permanently closed.
Bassetlaw Hospital in Worksop currently has 39 beds across two mixed-gender wards with dormitories separated by curtains.
Controversial proposals to close the beds would move inpatient services for adults and old people’s mental healthcare to new sites, 15 miles away, in Mansfield.
Bassetlaw CCG’s Governing Body is set to make a final decision on the proposals at its meeting on July 20.
But serious concerns were raised by the Health Scrutiny Committee on July 13 about how staff and family members would travel to Mansfield to visit the new sites, at Sherwood Oaks and Millbrook.
Sherwood Oaks will have two female wards and two male wards and there are 30 beds at Millbrook.
Chair of the meeting Councillor Sue Saddington (Cons) said: “I have great concerns for the people of Bassetlaw. Local services should be for local people.
“Once lost they will not return. I would rather be in dormitory accommodation and near my relatives.
“They need to look at the transport issue. It is chaotic at the moment.”
Councillor Callum Bailey (Cons), added: “In terms of transport, it takes 30 minutes from Beckingham to Worksop.
“If you move that to Mansfield, that’s an hour. If you don’t have a car it increases to 2.5 hours one way.”
Councillor Glynn Gilfoyle (Lab), said: “That facility doesn’t meet CQC guidelines and it states in the report that it hasn’t met guidelines since 2013.
“It seems the decision has been made as they are not going to build a facility [Sherwood Oaks] and leave it empty.”
Idris Griffiths, the CCG’s Accountable Officer, confirmed the body had taken into account the results of a survey with feedback from hundreds of residents, as well as a local protest petition with 2,500 signatures.
But he said facilities at Bassetlaw were “inadequate to say the least”.
He added: “We costed out refurbishment and new builds and it was between £10m and £20m roughly.
“To put this amount of money in for the sake of 100 people a year from Bassetlaw is disproportionate.”
He added that over £4m in the next four years will be put entirely into services in Bassetlaw.
Julie Attfield, of Nottinghamshire Healthcare, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to improve care for people when they are most vulnerable.
“They can have access to en-suites, physio, outside space and visiting suites.”
