Fiona said
“A short while ago I met with Sheena Cumiskey, Chief Executive of local mental health trust Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust, to seek assurance on the future of mental health services for Eastern Cheshire in light of recent speculation about the future of the Millbrook mental health hospital in Macclesfield.
Sheena confirmed that the Trust has been listening to patient and public feedback and is now working on a set of options, together with Cheshire East Council and local clinical commissioning groups. This includes aiming to improve the support available in the local community before people go into crisis. I think this is very important as too many people with mental health problems go into crisis before receiving the help they need.
Sheena also assured me that the work CWP is doing with partners is committed to ensuring that people who need hospital care will still be able to access it and will take on board local people’s concerns around travel and transport for carers. Recent proposals have included the creation of new Macclesfield-based services and I expect to see confirmation of those proposals in the coming months going forward to public consultation.
There is a link on the Eastern Cheshire CCG website and CWP website for local people to register their interest in the upcoming engagement events, and I would urge people to get involved and make their voice heard. I will continue to call for access to high quality mental health services for the people of Congleton and wider East Cheshire.”
https://www.easterncheshireccg.nhs.uk/News-Events/current-engagement.htm