Council leader wants mental health services to stay at Bassetlaw Hospital

This week, I recorded my strong opposition to a proposal which seeks to move the services currently provided on wards B1 and B2 out of the district.

I am unconvinced that this is in the interests of local people, will diminish the levels of local care and add a number of barriers to people who need to access these critical services.

While I agree that the current community and inpatient mental health provision needs to be modernised,

I do not believe that merging inpatient services with other Nottinghamshire districts is the right thing to do.

This issue is just one of a number of proposals and I encourage everyone to look at the information available on the Bassetlaw CCG website, take part in the consultation and share your views.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of the NHS staff and volunteers, the Bassetlaw CCG, Primary Care Networks and local GP practices who have all worked tirelessly to organise and deliver the Covid-19 vaccination programme in our district.

As the Prime Minister emphasised this week in his roadmap, vaccines are a critical way to reduce hospital admissions and allow society to return to a new normal.

Those delivering vaccines locally are undoubtedly saving lives and your work is very much appreciated.

If you are due to receive the vaccine but have not yet been contacted, click here for the latest information.

Finally, throughout December and January, we held a public consultation on the Worksop Masterplan – a visionary document that sets out how the town centre can be reinvented, reinvigorated and regenerated.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the consultation, your feedback has been invaluable towards shaping the final plan.

This document will be taken to full council on March 4 and will be available for everyone to see very soon.

Coun Simon Greaves is the leader of Bassetlaw District Council.