Mental health ward ‘not fit for purpose’

County councillors have welcomed the closure of a hospital ward, saying “it should have gone long ago”.

Kent and Medway Partnership Trust (KMPT) has sold the Cranmer Ward of the St Martin’s Hospital in Canterbury to housing provider Homes England for £6.32m.

Elderly patients with mental health conditions such as dementia will be cared for at the Victorian wing until April 2020 at the latest.

Speaking at a meeting of KCC’S health overview and scrutiny committee on Friday, Cllr Andrew Bowles (Con) said: “Having inspected that facility on more than one occasion during my time on the community health council, I am certainly not sad to see it going.

“I don’t think it was fit for purpose, I think there are far better ways for treating the patients that need that type of facility.

“I think it should have gone long ago.”

Chair Cllr Sue Chandler echoed this sentiment, saying she “couldn’t agree more”.

To make up for the 15 beds lost as part of the deal, the trust plans to either move patients to its other facilities or find a way to run the services with nine fewer beds.

An option on the table is potentially providing care for patients in their home, which the trust hopes would reduce patient flow and the length of stays.

No decision has yet been made.