LETTER: Anger at Pavilion Garden's meeting

I had looked at the proposals prepared by 21C#Joined up Care prior to the meeting and thought I had a reasonable idea of what was proposed. However, at the close of the two hour meeting I was really angry and frustrated as the panel were clearly not listening to anyone despite their repeated statements that they were.

They were condescending but most of all, incompetent in attempting to respond to the statements that were made by the public that required no answer, just assurance that they would be taken into consideration.

I have no idea how the system in this area works for those who have a dementing illness but the proposal to close the beds at Spencer Ward, Cavendish Hospital and substitute hub teams, and the use of Walton Hospital, Chesterfield seem ill thought out.

Before my retirement I worked at The Meadows Community Mental Health Team for Older People.

I was a social worker and part of a fully multidisciplinary team being managed by both health and social services in Stockport.

We had access to day hospitals, assessment wards, respite care and a type of rapid response team which took on new cases for a short period.

We all worked in the community and the team continues to function well for the 15 years it has been going.

The difference between that and the proposal by North Derbyshire Health Care is that Stockport is an urban area with good transport links, not a rural area with poor transport links.

Mobile phones in Stockport have signals and the team is based in a building, I noticed that the proposal suggests there may not be a building for the hubs to access .

Where is the support for staff, who will be working with challenging people?

Are they going to be working 12 hour shifts as they do in hospital settings as the proposal indicates they are?

This is both dangerous for the staff and the community especially as the staff would be driving from house to house for the full shift period.

This consultation is going on until October.

I urge people to find out for themselves and view the proposals. www.joinedupcare.org.uk

Cherry Billing

Resident of Buxton