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Heat is on over mental health cuts (From Daily Echo)
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Julian Lewis claims NHS mental bed cuts 'bulldozed' through
11:20am Sunday 24th June 2012 in New Forest
By Tom Moseley, Parliamentary Correspondent
Julian Lewis
AN MP is keeping up the pressure on Hampshire health bosses over controversial mental health cuts.
Julian Lewis claims bed closures had been “bulldozed through”, despite the results of consultations.
The New Forest East MP has been a fierce critic of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust’s plans to close 58 acute beds. And the Tory was angered by the refusal of the county council’s scrutiny committee to allow him to make his case before a meeting.
Speaking in a debate about mental health in the House of Commons, Dr Lewis said the committee had been “taking on board” some of his concerns, promising to “safely manage” any future bed reduction, and demanding to be informed should demand exceed supply.
Concerned But he again criticised the cuts, telling MPs bed capacity had been reduced by 35 per cent while occupancy rates were above 90 per cent.
He said: “The pattern seems to be something like this: they hold a consultation; they make assertions based on, at best, subjective surveys of what they say people want; they then rely on pseudo-independent “expert”
research which, usually, turns out not to be independent at all and, finally, they bulldoze their pre-existing plans through.”
Dr Lewis said he was in favour of community-based treatment, but added: “Even its most ardent advocates do not deny that there will always be a need for inpatient beds for some people some of the time. I am concerned that the cuts imposed on in-patient beds may mean that, if we are not very careful indeed, there will be enough beds available in future only for people who are sectioned.”
Comments(10)
BenjiWinsor
says...
11:44am Sun 24 Jun 12
Inform Al
says...
2:08pm Sun 24 Jun 12
forest tony
says...
3:16pm Sun 24 Jun 12
saintmark1977
says...
5:22pm Sun 24 Jun 12
May I respectfully suggest that Julian Lewis takes a good look at the political party of which he is a member and asks himself if he is happy to continue to represent them?
IronLady2010
says...
6:32pm Sun 24 Jun 12
saintmark1977 wrote:Those of a certain age remember life under Labour and are still trying to pay back what they owe, going mental in the process!
Those of us of a certain age can remember life under the last Tory government when it was not unusual to see people who were clearly mentally troubled walking the streets in various degrees of distress.
May I respectfully suggest that Julian Lewis takes a good look at the political party of which he is a member and asks himself if he is happy to continue to represent them?
Inform Al
says...
6:44pm Sun 24 Jun 12
IronLady2010 wrote:I'm old enough to remember when we had excellent Labour and Conservative governments, and young enough to remember exactly the opposite of both. We desperately need a government that cares about the country and its people, us ordinary folk that is, and is clever enough to get it right.
saintmark1977 wrote:Those of a certain age remember life under Labour and are still trying to pay back what they owe, going mental in the process!
Those of us of a certain age can remember life under the last Tory government when it was not unusual to see people who were clearly mentally troubled walking the streets in various degrees of distress.
May I respectfully suggest that Julian Lewis takes a good look at the political party of which he is a member and asks himself if he is happy to continue to represent them?
Mr sheep
says...
8:48am Mon 25 Jun 12
You cant help it if you get ill so why mess with the medication?
you cant play politics in this way with ppls lives as when there ill . when will polititians stop messing with peoples health ?
saintmark1977
says...
9:44am Mon 25 Jun 12
Whilst I am able to accept (but not to agree with) your comment in regard to the last Labour government was it necessary for you to make a joke about a health condition as serious as mental illness?
In my opinion poor taste and a remark that does you no service.
Inform Al
says...
10:08am Mon 25 Jun 12
Mr sheep wrote:You are talking of current politicians and not a previous Labour government that introduced the NHS, nor of the next Conservative government that nurtured what Churchill considered to be the 'jewel in the crown'. We currently have a government interested only in making the rich. richer at our expense. It really is time to turn back the clock and once again get politicians not only with a sense of fair play, but with the intelligence to make it work.
Boll??ks! what ever party is in its all the same ! punish the person whos in need of help!
You cant help it if you get ill so why mess with the medication?
you cant play politics in this way with ppls lives as when there ill . when will polititians stop messing with peoples health ?
freefinker says...
11:37am Sun 24 Jun 12
His description of the consultation process is a classic. I've never know a consultation process in any sphere of civic society that does not use this self-fulfilling process.