Have your say on plans to move mental health beds

Above: local MP, David Rutley and East Cheshire Mental Health Forum member Michael Heale

The consultation on the proposals for the review of specialist acute adult mental health services in Cheshire East is now underway, and David Rutley, MP for Macclesfield, is urging as many local residents as possible to join him in opposing proposals to move all acute adult mental health beds from Macclesfield to Chester and the Wirral.

Like many residents in and around Macclesfield, as well as other local MPs, Fiona Bruce and Esther McVey, David is very concerned about the proposals, being put forward by Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (ECCCG) and Cheshire & Wirral Partnership (CWP). Closing all acute adult mental health beds in Macclesfield’s Millbrook Unit and relocating twenty-five beds to Chester and the Wirral would entail a nearly ninety-mile round trip for often vulnerable local adults, and their families and carers, to access the inpatient care and the support they need.

David is urging local residents to highlight their concerns during CWP’s ongoing consultation, which is open for responses from the public until 29^th May. Residents can make submissions to the consultation online, here: www.easterncheshireccg.nhs.uk/Your-Views/ccg-consultations.htm. They can also attend two public drop-in sessions on the proposals in Macclesfield, the first at the Town Hall on 21^st March between 2.30 p.m. and 4.30 p.m., and the second at Macclesfield Town Football Club, on 23^rd May between 6.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m., when they can ask questions and raise their concerns about the proposals.

Local residents can also sign a petition to ECCCG, launched by East Cheshire Mental Health Forum, calling on local health leaders not to allow the removal of the last remaining inpatient beds from Cheshire East. There has already been an impressive, strong response to the petition, with over 3,000 signatures reached since it was set up ten months ago. David met recently with the Chair of East Cheshire Mental Health Forum, local resident Michael Heale, as part of a regular dialogue on retaining vital mental health services in Macclesfield, and discussed the next steps for the campaign. The petition can be found at: www.change.org/p/dr-paul-bowen-chair-east-cheshire-ccg-address-the-serious-shortfall-in-provision-of-mental-health-services-in-cheshire-east

Speaking after his meeting, David said, “I am very grateful to Michael and his colleagues in the East Cheshire Mental Health Forum for their tireless commitment and energy to highlighting the importance of retaining inpatient beds for adults with acute needs in Macclesfield. I continue to oppose the proposals to move these beds to Chester and the Wirral, and hope as many local residents as possible will make their views on this vital issue known in the weeks ahead. I will continue to campaign with the Forum in support of protecting high-quality local mental health services for residents in Macclesfield and in Cheshire East.”