Campaign to rally public in battle to save health centres

Service users, their families and mental health professionals who run the centres will speak about the vital work which the centres perform in the community at the meeting.

Professionals have already warned that if Leeds City Council were to close Leeds Crisis Centre in Headingley, which deals with around 2,000 people every year, it would have a devastating effect.

They say the two threatened day care centres, the Vale in Hunslet and Stocks Hill in Armley, are an integral part of mental health care in the city, preventing people relapsing into crisis, attempting suicide and being admitted to hospital.

The public meeting, organised by Unison, will be held in Leeds Civic Hall on Tuesday, February 8, at 2pm.

Council leaders in Leeds have said difficult decisions have to be made at a time when the authority is grappling with funding cuts and has said the changes to day services are set to mean services are more focused on individuals.

Tony Pearson, Unison regional organiser said: "The public meeting will show how much support there is for the centres and we want to make sure the politicians and the public know what will be lost if the centres are closed.

"It will have a devastating effect on thousands of people."

Campaigners want to see if new cash can be found to help fund the services - perhaps by pushing for more cash from the NHS.

The council says it wants to "modernise" mental health services and provide services tailored to individual needs. Concerns have also been raised that the day centres and crisis centre duplicate services.

But one day centre officer, who did not wish to be named, said the services complemented each other.

She said the centres offered support for groups and individuals and users were involved in planning their own activities, increasing independence and access to education and helping people get back to work.

Norman Forsyth, chair of the city-wide mental health Service Users' Group, added: "I hope that the public meeting will help people realise the immensely important work these centres do in helping desperate people to improve and play a full part in their communities.

"Everything the council says it wants mental health services to provide is already being done now so what are the real reasons they want to close the centres?"

Coun Lucinda Yeadon, the council's executive member responsible for adult social care said of the day centres: "Increasingly, people want services which are more tailored to their individual needs. Making these changes will ensure services are available to help people to recover, or to better manage their condition, and enable them to take part in activities which are available to everyone - like education, training and employment.

"If the proposals are approved a consultation with service users, both individually and in friendship and interest groups, will begin to discuss how their needs can best be met within this new model."

Coun Yeadon, speaking about the crisis centre, said: "The budget challenges that we are facing at the moment are massive, with the council needing to find savings of 150m over the next four years as a result of the Government's spending cuts. We have no choice but to look at all the services that we provide and have some very tough and painful decisions to make about their future.

"Leeds Crisis Centre has provided an excellent service for over 20 years, and we know that it is valued by the people that have been helped by it. However, to our knowledge, we are the only council that provides such a service. These needs are met by the NHS in the rest of the country."

Joanne Ginley