Mental health units in mid and north Essex are to close temporarily as part of a cost-cutting move.
The North Essex Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust says the closures until the end of the financial year in April are intended to reduce £500,000 spent on agency staffing. It currently faces a £1.7m overspend.
Among the four units to shut will be the New Ivy Chimneys, Witham. News that it is set to close within two months was greeted with dismay by those working with people with mental health problems.
The unit provides rehabilitation for eight people, teaching skills and giving confidence to enable them to lead more independent lives, often on their own.
A spokeswoman for the Trust said the unit would stay closed until the end of the financial year in April, when it would be reviewed, but she said there were no plans to close it permanently.
She said: "It was a very difficult decision to make but the main priority is to make sure continuity of care is achieved. Nobody is going to be left stranded."
But the manager of Prospects, a training centre for people with mental health problems in Braintree, said it would slow down people's progress to independence.
Other units affected are:
The Northgate Day Hospital in Colchester, attended by between 20 and 25 people a day, and the Aspen ward on the Severalls site in the town
Drake House in Chelmsford, an assessment unit for older people
Published Friday November 15, 2002
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