Tories support cuts to services at Colliers Court
The Tories are managing to say yes and no at the same time. Officially the Conservative Cabinet are fully in support of cutting older people’s mental health services from Colliers Court in Cinderford. Your Tory County Council are saying yes to centralising services in Charlton Lane Mental Health Centre in Cheltenham.
The Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, chaired by a Conservative, have quite rightly referred the proposals to Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt. With the full support of Labour, that committee is saying no to the cutting of services from Colliers Court.
Travelling from the Forest to Cheltenham for treatment is going to have a negative impact on older people’s health. Cutting staffing in the Forest is going to have a negative impact older people’s health. Centralising services in a building in Cheltenham which is in the middle of a major refurbishment just can’t be a good plan.
When it comes to older people’s mental health it’s the Tories in Shire Hall who write the strategy, it’s the Tories in Shire Hall who have the influence, but the Tories in Shire Hall are backing a single County site in Cheltenham. I am greatly saddened that even though some Conservatives have come out loudly against the proposals, others have weakened our case to Patricia Hewitt. It is a terrible loss to our save our services campaign that we don’t have the Tory Cabinet’s support for Colliers Court.
Graham Morgan
The Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, chaired by a Conservative, have quite rightly referred the proposals to Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt. With the full support of Labour, that committee is saying no to the cutting of services from Colliers Court.
Travelling from the Forest to Cheltenham for treatment is going to have a negative impact on older people’s health. Cutting staffing in the Forest is going to have a negative impact older people’s health. Centralising services in a building in Cheltenham which is in the middle of a major refurbishment just can’t be a good plan.
When it comes to older people’s mental health it’s the Tories in Shire Hall who write the strategy, it’s the Tories in Shire Hall who have the influence, but the Tories in Shire Hall are backing a single County site in Cheltenham. I am greatly saddened that even though some Conservatives have come out loudly against the proposals, others have weakened our case to Patricia Hewitt. It is a terrible loss to our save our services campaign that we don’t have the Tory Cabinet’s support for Colliers Court.
Graham Morgan
posted by graham_morgan at 2:04 pm
