What NHS Tayside says about criticisms

In response to PLUS Perth’s criticism, Gordon Paterson, chief officer of the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership, said:“The decision to redesign inpatient mental health and learning disability services in Tayside was taken by the Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board (IJB) in January 2018 following extensive public engagement and consultation.

“We recognise that not everyone who contributed to the consultation agreed with the IJB’s decision to centralise mental health inpatient services in Dundee and learning disability services in Perth. However, the IJB approved this redesign as it seeks to develop centres of excellence, consolidate the expertise in these centres, sustain the medical and nursing workforce in the face of recruitment challenges and develop significantly enhanced environments to deliver improved patient care.

“We accept David Strang’s interim report and acknowledge it is an important milestone as it sets out the lived experiences of people who have used mental health services in Tayside over the past few years.

“Mental health is a priority for both Perth and Kinross IJB and NHS Tayside and we are already taking action to address the issues raised in the interim report.

“The report has highlighted the need to develop end-to-end pathways of care and we are committed to doing so.

“This will be key to the work of the newly-formed Mental Health Alliance.

“The Mental Health Alliance will bring together the organisations that are responsible for planning and delivering mental health and social care services across Tayside to improve the whole journey of mental health care and treatment for people inTayside.”