aAh! Magazine
You are here: Home / News / Out of Sight, Out of Mind
News

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

19th February 2014 By 0 203

 
It’s late at night, you’re dressed just in your pyjamas. You’re confused, scared. Someone or something is trying to hurt you. You get bundled in the back of a vehicle by people you don’t know, and driven miles away.
If you have mental health needs in Manchester, that could very well be your experience. Hopefully not. Hopefully you’ll be close to your home, your family and support networks, getting to stay on a mental health ward with staff you might already know. The chances of that are improved today, with the news that the proposal to close the older adult’s mental health ward at Trafford General Hospital has been scrapped.
Although the proposal had claimed that older people would be treated in nearby Salford, the reality is that there just aren’t enough spaces. More than 1,700 beds have been lost since 2011. Even with the current numbers of acute mental health beds in Greater Manchester, it’s not unheard of for vulnerable patients to be sent far from home in times of crisis. This is because there is already an acute shortage of facilities – the occupancy rate in Bolton is already 98%, when national guidelines state that 85% is the safe level. Some patients have presented themselves for urgent treatment only to be told there are no beds available. One lady I spoke to last year was due to be sent hundreds of miles away, from Manchester to Portsmouth when she needed inpatient care. It was only by standing up for her that her family were able to insist a bed was found closer to home.
Perhaps it is easier to send ‘away’ schizophrenics like her. But easier for who? For the ward staff who then have to launder their clothes because the family can’t visit with fresh ones? For the psychiatrists unfamiliar with the patients’ history? For the family members having to travel long distances to visit? For the patients who have to do without familiar faces, stability … even simple things like hugs from family members, while they try to get better? Imagine trying to regain your mental equilibrium in an unfamiliar town, away from friends and family.

Twenty one elderly beds at the Moorside Unit have now been saved, but the fight isn’t over yet. Ward closures in Bolton and Salford are still on the table. You can sign the petition here.

This won’t happen without you. Old age pensioners with Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, dementia, those with reduced rights under the Mental Health Act are all affected. Clearly this is a really easy group for policy makers to ignore, in the fight to save money for the NHS. But at what cost to society?
 
Caroline Matthews is a Mancunian, wife, mother, student and writer. You can follow her on Twitter @CarolBMatthews

 

About the author / 

aAh!

aAh! Magazine is Manchester Metropolitan University's arts and culture magazine.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • 14th April 2026

    The Slates @ Gorilla review – packed rooms and big ambitions for the Yorkshire Lads

    Featured image and gallery: Sam Holmes From Mirfield to Manchester, this Yorkshire-born four-piece bring their funk-interwoven indie rock to a sold-out Gorilla for their biggest headline show to date. Fresh off the back of their new single ‘Watch Life Burn’ and signing their first record deal with This Feeling/ LAB Records, there is already a…

  • 10th April 2026

    Manchester Film Festival 2026: Northern talent shines in record-breaking edition

    Feature image: Press The Manchester Film Festival has wrapped its 12th edition, running over 11 days and showcasing a strong line-up of local and international talent from across the independent film industry. Festival director Neil Jeram-Croft reflected on this year’s programme, filled with a mix of features, shorts and documentaries spanning the cities’ cinema hotspots:…

  • 10th April 2026

    Toots and the Maytals bring ‘Reggae Got Soul’ 50th anniversary tour to Manchester

    Featured image: Press Toots and the Maytals return to Manchester for their ‘Reggae Got Soul’ 50th anniversary tour. Following their hugely successful 2025 tour, Toots and the Maytals return to Manchester to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their landmark album, Reggae Got Soul. Fronted for decades by Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert – named by Rolling Stone…

Latest Articles