Exactly one month after Somerset CCG announced their decision to close St Andrew’s Ward in Wells, which is the last remaining mental health ward, not only in Wells, but in the whole Mendip area, Save Somerset’s Community Services organised a rally on Cathedral Green, Wells, which was attended by at least 55 people on a rainy Saturday afternoon. We were reminded by Vanessa Gordon from mental health charity Heads Up that Wells used to have 60 mental health beds back in the 1980s. The population size of Mendip District in 1991 was 97,400, but in 2018 it was 114,881; we have an increasing population and ever decreasing number of mental health beds and services. People in crisis who have been admitted to a mental health ward require support from family and friends as part of their journey to recovery. Locating the ward in Yeovil means that this aspect of patient recovery will be much reduced, resulting in a prolonged recovery and a reduction in the availability of beds at a time when demand is already outstripping availability.
Emma King, one of the organisers of the campaign, stated that travelling to Yeovil is simply not feasible for the majority of people without a car and, even with a car, and the increased carbon footprint as a result, journey time is still much increased, leaving vulnerable people isolated and without the support they require.
The march proceeded noisily down the High Street, chanting “Keep services local; save St Andrew’s ward”, and stopped outside the office of James Heappey to leave a message on his door:
“The Conservative Party manifesto for the 2019 General Election contains a series of commitments on mental health including:
- Treating mental health with the same urgency as physical health.
- Legislating so that patients suffering from mental health conditions, including anxiety or depression, have greater control over their treatment and receive the dignity and respect they deserve.
CLOSING ST ANDREW’S WARD IS A CONTRAVENTION OF THESE PROMISES AND ALSO IGNORES THAT 75% OF RESPONDENTS LIVING IN THE WELLS AREA DO NOT WANT ST ANDREW’S WARD TO CLOSE.
AS MP FOR WELLS CONSTITUENCY, IT IS INCUMBENT UPON YOU TO REPRESENT US!
JAMES HEAPPEY – DO YOUR JOB AND REPRESENT THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED YOU INTO YOUR POSITION – YOU ARE A PUBLIC SERVANT AND HAVE NO POWER WITHOUT US – SO SERVE US!
SAVE ST ANDREW’S WARD
The march then continued down to Priory Park where St Andrew’s ward is located and dispersed from there after further speeches, including Dave Chappel from the Trades Union Council who reminded us that care in the community does not work.
The march was successful in raising awareness of the issue of the closure and reminding us that when services like this are removed, it is the most vulnerable people who are affected and any one of us could find ourselves as one of those vulnerable people in need of mental health care, especially at this time of additional stress and instability due to the pandemic.
The petition “Save St Andrew’s ward, Wells, from closure” is still active on change.org and now has nearly 1200 signatures. We are encouraging people to write to James Heappey and the CCG about this closure and plan to hold an awareness raising event on Saturday 5th December on Cathedral Green in Wells at midday. Please join our Facebook group and support our campaign and together we can save this ward and reopen Phoenix ward to ensure that we have the capacity to keep vulnerable people safe at their time of greatest need.