HAMPSHIRE county council's deputy leader has demanded to know how much money has been saved by axing one third of the county's adult mental health hospital beds.

The cuts were made two years ago by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust in a bid to save almost three million pounds.

But at a meeting of the health and wellbeing board heard how demand for Hampshire's 107 acute adult mental health hospital beds is now "regularly exceeded".

Cllr Keith Mans wanted to know the exact current need for hospital beds, as well as how much money has actually been saved by the cuts, given that private hospital beds are now having to be bought to plug the gap.

He reminded the meeting how he had advised caution during the public consultation before the controversial move was made."

Southern Health took a decision to shut one third of acute mental health beds in Hampshire," said Cllr Mans.

"It was meant to save £4.4m gross, with a spend of £1.5m on Hospital at Home."Suddenly it's two years further on.

"I would like to know whether that saving been made, or whether it has been spent on providing the shut beds in the private sector.

"I think there should at least be an acknowledgement that, perhaps, they shut the beds too quickly, and should have waited for results from hospitals as to whether demand was going down or coming up.

"I would like a letter from Southern Health," he said.

"Was £2.9m saved, and where did the money go?"

His voice rising, Cllr Mans finished his speech with: "Do I make myself clear?”

One in six people in Hampshire experience mental ill health, and there has been a marked increase in severely unwell children and teenagers in the past ten years.

Hampshire's care commissioning groups spend between 7 per cent to 9.5 per cent of their overall budgets on mental health, below the national average and less than neighbouring authorities, such as Southampton.

Meeting documents said there had been a "marked increase" in demand for hospital services in the past year, and there was sometimes not a single available intensive care bed available in England.

Last week a Winchester inquest heard how Romsey Multiple Sclerosis sufferer Deborah Milliken committed suicide hours after begging to be admitted to a secure unit because she was suicidal, but was turned away.

Director of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities for Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust Dr Lesley Stevens said she would provide a written reply for Cllr Mans.

She said one of the biggest problems mental healthcare faced was the way both patients and medics were stigmatised.

"You would still think we were in the days of the asylum," she added.