Christie Ward to close
Published 30 Aug 2011 10:00
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HEALTH board bosses are poised to finally close the under-threat Christie Ward in the coming months.
The final nail in the coffin for the beleaguered mental health ward is now expected to come at the next board meeting of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) in October.
Health chiefs are set to recommend that the service be permanently moved from the Vale of Leven Hospital to Glasgow's Gartnaval Hospital site.
The decision for the switch is being justified because of dwindling numbers of patients which the NHS claims is "not sustainable" and the high cost of repairing the site after it was torched last year.
Acute inpatient services have now been moved away from the Vale for more than a year after the blaze, although the proposed permanent move away has been slammed by critics.
Jackie Pollock, of the United Campaign Group, said: "I think it's the wrong decision that the health board is making.
"The people in this area need somewhere to go.
"Why should we have to trail up to Gartnaval, both patients and their families?
"Gartnaval is accessible by train but why should we or any relatives have the expense of petrol or train fares and other things?
"The patient who set the Christie Ward on fire has stolen a much-needed service from the community.
"I know the health board was thinking about taking it away anyway but by doing he has robbed the community of a vital service."
Arsonist Allan Dobbs gutted the ward after he set fire to it in July last year in a failed suicide attempt.
The 43-year-old was ordered to carry out 240 hours community service and placed him on probation for three years with the condition that he undergo treatment for his mental difficulties, said that he had "deprived the community of what was a very valuable and useful facility".
Speaking about the proposed move, a spokesperson for GGC said: "It is our intention to take a paper to the next board meeting to discuss the future of the Christie Ward.
"We are working with all members of the monitoring group to agree the content of the paper.
"The monitoring group has received regular reports on both community and inpatient activity in the local area."
This article appeared in Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter 30 Aug 11
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