Mental health consultation a ‘sham’ says MSP

PSYCHIATRIC in-patient services in Tayside are set to be centralised at the Carseview Centre in Dundee.

NHS Tayside has been reviewing its mental health services after deciding it was no longer sustainable or safe to run general adult psychiatry (GAP) inpatient services at three different sites: the Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital, Brechin, Carseview in Dundee and Perth’s Murray Royal Hospital.

The Mulberry Unit was temporarily closed in February because of a shortage of junior doctors but it now appears to be shut permanently after NHS Tayside said its preferred option is to centralise services in Dundee. Learning disability in-patient services would be centralised at Murray Royal Hospital.

Politicians from across the divide have demanded the retention of a psychiatric unit in Angus.

North-East Scotland Conservative MSP Liam Kerr said he believes NHS Tayside has always intended to close the Mulberry Unit.

He said: “There was always a sense that we were being fobbed off and the fate of the Mulberry Unit had already been sealed.

“The consultation has been little more than a sham, and I am furious my worst suspicions have now been proved correct.”

NHS Tayside medical director Professor Andrew Russell said: “It has long been recognised providing GAP services across three sites is not a sustainable model of care for our patients.

“Patient safety is our overriding priority and to ensure we can continue to deliver a high quality of care, it has been necessary to look at the way we provide these services.”