Mental health shake-up could see units close

Savile Park View House, a rehabilitation unit in Castleford for older people with mental health needs, could close under changes being made by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Trust bosses said discussion would be held on the future of the unit, which had seen dwindling numbers of patients being admitted.

Castle Lodge, in Sandal, Wakefield, is already proposed for closure under plans to provide one 20-bed rehabilitation unit for the Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees areas.

The trust is facing budget cuts and had to save £12m by April this year.

But bosses said demand for in-patient beds was reducing and more people wanted to be treated at home.

Sean Rayner, the trust’s district director, said: “Savile Park View House, a unit for older people, is no longer occupied to the levels it has been historically due to the shift to intensive community support. This shift has also helped our teams to support many more people in their own homes.

“The trust currently has rehabilitation units in Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees.

“The Wakefield unit, Castle Lodge, currently helps six people, though all have secured supported tenancies or other accommodation, so it is anticipated that the unit may no longer have any residents by the autumn.”

A summary of the proposals shows that the current 56 beds at units in Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale would be reduced to 20 in one unit, with the location yet to be decided.

The new unit would provide short-term care for between one and two years.