Kendal mental health unit to close over safety fears

The psychiatric inpatient unit at Kendal's Westmorland General Hospital will close at the end of June over quality and safety fears raised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The Kentmere Unit provides up to 12 beds for people living in South Lakeland with acute psychiatric conditions.

In a report published in March the CQC stated the unit failed to meet expected standards set out in national guidance - including same sex accommodation - and that this placed people who use the services at risk.

Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the facility, says it has taken a series of improvement actions but that with all further options now exhausted it has no choice but to shut the unit.

Some admissions are already being minimised and all admissions to the unit will cease at the end of May. In the meantime the trust is opening four additional beds in Barrow and supporting more people at home.

The Trust says its medium to long-term strategy for the provision of inpatient beds across Cumbria, including South Lakes, will form part of a countywide mental health consultation being planned for later this year.