Following feedback from local service users and their carers, the NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is announcing plans to invest in local mental health services.

Confirming comments that the CCG has received recently from service users, the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report highlighted concerns about the physical state of Bootham Park Hospital and the Lime Trees unit.

The report highlighted a number of issues that can only be resolved by moving to alternative accommodation. In the case of Bootham Park Hospital the fact that it is a Grade 1 listed building means there are restrictions to any improvements that can be made to the fabric of the building.

The services provided at Lime Trees are commissioned by NHS England and they are working closely with Leeds and York Partnership Trust to move into more suitable accommodation.

As a prelude to a transformation in the provision of mental health services, the CCG will be holding a range of consultation events throughout the summer, staying true to its promise of involving the community in helping to shape decisions about local healthcare. The process for the creation of this new Mental Health Strategy will include an assessment of the nature and site of a new York Mental Health Hospital that the CCG is determined to provide for the Vale of York community. As well as discussion about the precise nature of the hospital, the consultation process will also look to determine the range of services that should be provided in the community setting with particular attention paid to those based in Primary Care.

A short term, interim facility will be required whilst the CCG obtains approval for the new hospital and it is being built. Therefore the CCG is working on plans with its partners at City of York Council, NHS England, NHS Property Services and Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust to develop this temporary solution that will meet the accommodation needs for in-patient service users.

Rachel Potts, the CCG’s Chief Operating Officer said: “We believe that investment in local mental health services is a fundamental requirement if we are to live up to the ideal of “parity of esteem” between physical and mental health.

“Bootham Park Hospital was built in 1774, it has served the people of the Vale of York well for 240 years, but the time has come for it to be replaced.

“The CCG believes that the review of mental health services gives us a fantastic opportunity to define the best possible model of care within which we can design a state of the art hospital facility.

“There is no health without mental health and the CCG is confident that the consultation process will allow it to commission innovative solutions that are fit for the 21st century.”

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