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Home Sittingbourne News Article
Campaigners are making a last-ditch bid to save Sittingbourne's Frank Lloyd dementia unit.
Health bosses want to shut the centre for "challenging" patients at the end of this month and are hoping to get permission from county councillors tomorrow.
But councillors on the crucial health overview and scrutiny committee say the proposed changes will be a "substantial variation of service" and are poised to send the controversial decision to Health Minister Matt Hammond.
Health commissioners insist most patients can be better looked after in existing care homes or in their own home.
"They say no patients are being cared for "out of area."
But furious campaigner Denise Petro said: "Violent patients cannot be cared for in normal homes.
"The Frank Lloyd Unit was set up specifically to deal with these types of patients and its staff were specially trained to cope.
"I know of at least two elderly patients who are being cared for miles away from their homes and family because no local care homes will take them.
"This is scandalous, especially when we have more people being diagnosed with dementia than ever before."
The unit, in the grounds of Sittingbourne Memorial Hospital, was set up as a short-term inpatient unit with 40 beds across two wards.
Since 2017, health bosses have refused to send any new patients to it.
It is understood they have finally found alternative accommodation for the unit's last remaining patient.
Although it is in the NHS Swale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area the decision has been taken by West Kent CCG on behalf of all of Kent and Medway's CCGs.
The CCG has denied the decision is down to saving money, but according to its own figures the unit, run by the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT), was costing £3 million a year to look after 30 patients.
Beds for the other 10 patients were hired out at more than £400 a day until 2016.
Mrs Petro, from Kent Avenue, Sittingbourne, lodged an official complaint with Swale CCG and demanded to see the business case for closing the unit.
She is being backed by Conservative county councillors John Wright (Sittingbourne South), Andrew Bowles (Swale East), and Ken Pugh (Sheppey).
The three are expected to challenge health bosses at Kent County Council’s offices in Maidstone tomorrow.
The debate will be televised live at around 11am on the county council's website here.
Swale CCG is being merged with Medway CCG at the end of the month. It's final governing body meeting in Sittingbourne was on January 30 which Mrs Petro attended and asked why the dementia unit was being closed.
She said: “I was surprised, to say the least, to find that the Frank Lloyd Unit was not even on the agenda and never has been.
"The whole issue has never been publicly discussed. It has all been decided in secret behind closed doors. I have not seen one piece of public consultation.
"After the meeting I even gave copies of letters I had received from MP Gordon Henderson which he had been sent from KMPT trying to justify the closure.
"But our dementia crisis is growing and more people than ever before are being sectioned and placed in secure units."
She has asked for the future of the centre to be discussed at the very last governing body meeting of Swale CCG on Thursday, March 26, which will be in Gravesend. Swale has joint meetings with its sister CCG which serves Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley.
Mrs Petro added: “At the last meeting, Cllr Wright said there could be three specific dementia units in Kent. Maybe Frank Lloyd should be one of them?”
To join Mrs Petro's fight and share your own experiences, email her at seedenzil@googlemail.com
In a briefing to councillors for tomorrow's meeting KMPT says the unit, which serves all of Kent and Medway including the Isle of Sheppey, is no longer viable because of falling numbers.
It says: "In April 2019 the CCGs served notice on the Frank Lloyd Unit with a proposal to close on March 31, 2020."
Councillors were warned back in September 2018 that the unit was "under review."
West Kent CCG has been told to provide more information for tomorrow's meeting on its "new model of care" and to explain why the Frank Lloyd Unit must close.
"This is scandalous, especially when we have more people being diagnosed with dementia than ever before..."
Councillors can refuse to accept the decision because the consultation has been inadequate or the proposal is not in the best interest of patients.
The CCG says it is proposing a "small number of acute dementia hubs" where the "most challenging" patients can be admitted.
It says "pre-engagement with stakeholders" will be completed by April and "local engagement" with Swale residents will take pace to consider the future use of the Frank Lloyd building.
The CCG says patients have a choice of at least 14 other alternatives including Newington Court and Elvy Court care homes in Sittingbourne.
There are others in Gillingham, Deal, Sidcup, Gravesend, Longfield, Dover, Maidstone, New Romney, Cranbrook, Ashford and Tenterden.
Meanwhile, Swale CCG is holding a primary care commissioning committee meeting at the Appleyard in Remembrance Avenue, Sittingbourne, on Thursday, March 20, at 2pm before it merges with Medway on April 1.
