Chepstow Hospital dementia ward closure plans 'disturbing'

The family of a former mayor with dementia say they are "really disturbed" at proposals to close the only dementia ward in Monmouthshire.

Pauline Watts, the ex-Caldicot mayor, is an outpatient at Chepstow Hospital but Aneurin Bevan University Health Board plans to shut its dementia ward.

Her son Armand, a Monmouthshire councillor, said a local authority not having dementia care was "astonishing".

The board said it plans to strengthen "local community-based services".

The health board has launched a consultation document for redesigning mental health services for older people, which ends on Friday.

The health board has 6,868 people accessing specialist older adult mental health services across the greater Gwent area.

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Its preferred option is to close the ward in Chepstow and consolidate to three dementia units at Ysbyty Tri Chwm in Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, St Woolos Hospital in Newport and Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly county.

The board - which plans to reduce the number of older adult mental health beds to 67 from 72 - will also maintain a mental health unit at County Hospital near Cwmbran, in Torfaen.

The health board plans to close the dementia ward at Chepstow Community Hospital

Monmouthshire council opposes the plans and its full council meeting on Thursday suggested a "more robust option appraisal" was undertaken by Aneurin Bevan.

Mrs Watts, 77, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2016 and now lives with her son, will have to travel 20 miles (32km) to access a dementia ward.

"The journey to Newport from Chepstow along the M4 is the furthest point to travel of any service provided by any health board in Wales," said Mr Watts, a father-of-two.

"If you're an elderly person and don't drive, that's an hour-and-a-half on the bus.

"It is completely unacceptable. It moves the family from the person they have been caring for so lovingly - and I'm fundamentally opposed to that."

Chepstow Community Hospital was opened in 2000 to "place healthcare in the community" but Mr Watts said "they are rolling it back to the bad old days".

Pauline Watts moved in with her son Armand in the summer of 2017

"In recent times, healthcare had been modernised to bring it closer to the facilities - but now they are regressing," said the former Chepstow mayor.

"The expectation people should travel into another authority for very basic dementia care is astonishing, it is a real backward step.

"I can't think of any authority that doesn't have modern mental health care provision in its own county so a move to Newport, it shows the health board don't care about Monmouthshire."

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A dementia team visits Mrs Watts once a week while she is an outpatient at nearby Chepstow hospital.

"It's a great set-up and mum is comfortable there because she is familiar with it," he said.

"The break up of the team will be fundamentally detrimental to the service they provide.

"Consistency and familiarity of care is key and to move vulnerable people around and disrupt them can exacerbate the dementia."

There are 14 dementia beds at St Woolos Hospital in Newport

Aneurin Bevan's proposal acknowledged the plan to shut the dementia ward in Chepstow would "cause concern and alarm".

But Dr Chris O'Connor, the health board's divisional director for mental health services, said the consultation hoped to address "real significant challenges".

He said any savings would be reinvested in "strengthening specialist community services" as the board "consolidate" in-patient wards and "develop them into centres of excellence".

"We know we have significant numbers of people who will be needing services in the future," said Dr O'Connor.

Dr Chris O'Connor aid the consultation hoped to address "significant challenges"

"Across Gwent in the next 20 years we are going to have about a 40% increase in the number of people aged 65 and above so it's about how we develop services for the future," he said.

Aneurin Bevan's report said "a small number of patients" - estimated at about 30 a year - from south Monmouthshire would be affected.

"In Monmouthshire last year we had 650 new referrals to the team," added Dr O'Connor.

"The vast majority of those people will continue to receive their support in a community setting, it's only a very small number of people who require admission to in-patient service."