Mental health cuts

Published: 28 April, 2011

• CAMDEN & Islington Foundation Trust has a large communications department so it is a mystery why users of the mental health services have to rely on the New Journal for news on the latest changes to its services (Mental health help cuts, April 21). 

It now seems the   fears that many have expressed that cuts to C&I’s in-patient bed base were only the beginning of greater reductions in its services are now being realised.  

The number of community mental health teams is being  cut and other teams amalgamated to bring about greater “efficiency”.  

What this really means is that there will be fewer teams with fewer front-line staff. The predicted loss seems something like 40 per cent.

During recent public consultation on the closure of two of its hospitals, the foundation trust’s medical director, Sylvia Tang, repeatedly said that there would be no changes in community services. Now here they come proposed by the same Sylvia Tang.  

Once again the trust seems obsessed with secrecy since these cuts are only announced in communications to staff. Even Camden Council’s health scrutiny committee was not advised about them.

Once services are gone, they will never return. 

Society seems like to pay a heavy price in distress and misery for these reductions in much-needed services.

ANNA BERMOND
Croftdown Road, NW5