Councillors and an MP have demanded the urgent return of acute mental health beds in Westminster after the closure of a hospital during the Covid pandemic left residents travelling several miles away for treatment.
The Gordon Hospital, which contained 51 inpatient beds, was closed “temporarily” in March 2020 to keep patients and staff safe amid the rapid spread of the virus but has still not reopened nearly four years later.
The closure of the site in Pimlico has left the borough of Westminster without a single mental health bed despite a rise in demand. Patients have been forced to seek treatment at St Charles Hospital in North Kensington or further afield.
At the same time, the number of residents referred for acute hospital care in Westminster has risen. A total of 777 referrals were made last year, up by 103 on the year before.
Tory and Labour councillors in Kensington passed a cross-party motion last week calling on the NHS to reopen acute mental health beds in the borough ahead of a consultation on the issue, which will launch on Tuesday.
Speaking during a debate on the motion, Kensington Tory councillor Josh Rendall said the closure had “severely impacted” residents.
“People are not getting the level of service they require and many are waiting a long time to be seen in A&E. I have heard of residents travelling as far away as Milton Keynes to get mental health support…This is not acceptable.”
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, which owns the building, has admitted that it could cost £25m to bring the wards up to the standard recommended by the Royal College of Psychiatry. It cited issues including a lack of outside space, no en-suite facilities in bedrooms and “extremely difficult security issues with the building”.
Kensington Labour councillor Mona Ahmed said she had spoken to residents who “described how loved ones were having to reach crisis point before they met the threshold for admission”.
“Even before the closure of the Gordon, the demand for acute care beds far outstripped available capacity. Once a bed was agreed on, patients faced unacceptable delays – sometimes taking several days.”
She added that a lack of capacity had meant that some patients were sent for treatment in hospitals “miles away from home”, leaving “highly distressed patients cut off from their support system when they need it the most”.
“Our residents are still being placed as far away as areas including Hillingdon and Hounslow, which is just not acceptable.”
A spokesperson for NHS North West London confirmed that a consultation would be launched next Tuesday on the future of mental health provisions in the borough, which will run until the end of January 2024.
Felicity Buchan, Conservative MP for Kensington, told the Standard that she had spoken to senior NHS officials about how the closure of the hospital had increased pressure on services in Kensington.
“Kensington and Chelsea deserve full and proper mental health provision, and I’m concerned that beds in St Charles Hospital are being taken up by patients coming from outside the borough.”
A spokesperson for NHS North West London said: “We are asking residents of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, including current users of mental health services, for their view on the future shape of mental health services in the two boroughs.
“A public consultation will be launched next week, with the aim of getting the best balance between acute inpatient services and community-based care to meet the needs of local residents.
“The consultation document will be published on Tuesday 24 October and the consultation will run for 14 weeks, until the end of January 2024. We’d encourage everyone with an interest to get involved.”
Cllr Nafsika Butler- Thalassis Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and the Voluntary Sector said: “Community mental health services are crucial, but they shouldn’t be funded at the expense of acute hospital beds. If we lose these valuable beds, we will never get them back.
“Westminster has some of the highest health inequalities in the country. Having no acute mental health provision in the south of the borough has put pressure on other parts of the system. Facilities at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, for example, are hosting several mental health patients for extended period and in some cases for days at a time for up to 24 hours in beds that are needed for patients who are physically ill.
“The closure of the Gordon Hospital has had a clear impact on communities least able to access alternative support and will continue to do so.”
