No return for inpatient mental health care

The George Bryan Centre was demolished after a fire in 2019

NHS bosses have recommended that inpatient mental health services should not return to Tamworth.

Patients have been treated at St George’s Hospital in Stafford since a fire destroyed the George Bryan Centre at the Sir Robert Peel Hospital in February 2019.

The move was initially introduced as a temporary measure following the fire, but is now likely to be made permanent.

The NHS said outpatient services had improved in south Staffordshire since 2019, meaning it was no longer necessary to replace the demolished facility in Tamworth.

Chris Bird, interim chief transformation officer at Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent integrated Care Board (ICB), said the fire had forced the NHS to review how it delivered mental health services in the area.

"Making sure that people get the right mental health care in their local community is our priority,” he said, “but when someone needs to be admitted to hospital for their mental health, it is important that they do so in the most appropriate facilities," he said.

'A real blow'

Mr Bird added that inpatient care was only required in the most serious cases, and that leaders felt this was best provided by St George’s Hospital.

The move has not been welcomed by some people in the area, however.

Councillor Rob Pritchard said relocating services to Stafford made it more difficult for families to visit relatives.

He said: "It’s a real blow for Tamworth, and it’s also a fairly large footprint of a building going to waste."

He added: "Over the years the George Bryan Centre has been open, it’s helped hundreds if not thousands of local people who’ve found themselves in very difficult circumstances."

He said he was disappointed with the recommendation, and called on the ICB to reconsider its position.