Mental health unit move to Mansfield “devastating” for Bassetlaw, says patient

The patient, who did not want to give their name, said a 13-mile move to Mansfield would be “unthinkable” as mental health was in a “downward spiral” due to the pandemic.

Under Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust plans mental health patients in need of hospital stays would be moved to a new ward at Mansfield’s Sherwood Oaks.

Sherwood Oaks - formerly known as St Andrew’s Hospital - is undergoing a refurb to provide 72 beds for adult mental health services.

Currently male and female patients at Bassetlaw Hospital share Ward B2 - which consists of four single rooms with two separate bays for men and two for women.

At Sherwood Oaks - which is scheduled to open this summer - male and female wards would be separate - all with single en-suite rooms.

And elderly patients suffering with dementia in Bassetlaw’s Ward B1 would be moved to Millbrook Mental Health Unit at Mansfield’s King’s Mill Hospital.

However a Ward B2 patient speaking to the Guardian about the proposed move said: “The ward works well as it is and I as a service user would rather share a bay with four other patients than have to go to Mansfield should I ever need another admission.

“The new ward would have all single rooms with their own showers and toilets - but it won’t be in Bassetlaw and won’t have a general hospital connected.

“So anyone needing emergency medical treatment would need to be taken to King’s Mill.

“No-one likes to be in hospital and no-one likes to be on a mental health ward but ward B2 has been and is a lifesaving ward that has helped so many patients.

“With the Covid pandemic and mental health of many declining it will be a devastating loss for Bassetlaw and surrounding areas.

“Patients and visitors will have to travel further and patients will be further from home - and we won’t have a mental health ward anymore.”

NHS Bassetlaw Clinical Commissioning Group has launched a public consultation over the plans which closes on April 18.

You can view the consultation and have your say at survey.alchemer.eu/collab/90310611/Better-Mental-Health-for-Bassetlaw.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.