Harrogate’s mental health crisis team is still operating out of Ripon, two years after health bosses closed the town’s Briary unit.
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health services for the district, moved the team to The Orchards at Ripon following the closure of the Briary unit at Harrogate District Hospital in May 2020.
The crisis team provides specialist inpatient care for adults and children with mental health problems who may otherwise need to go to hospital.
The 29 staff were relocated after managers were unable to find alternative accommodation in Harrogate.
At the time, health bosses said the move was a short term solution until a new base in Harrogate was found.
The Stay Ferret asked the mental health trust whether a new base had been identified for the crisis team and if it had returned to face-to-face consultations.
A spokesperson for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust said:
“Following the transformation work associated with adult and older adult mental health services, there was a requirement for services other than hospital liaison to move out of Harrogate District Foundation Trust.
“In the planning of this, the adult and children’s crisis teams were accommodated at the Ripon community base at The Orchards from May 2020, as the crisis team coverage included Harrogate, Ripon and the rural district areas. The crisis team continues to operate from their own office spaces in Ripon.”
They added:
“Because of the nature of the crisis and home-based treatment team, the way we met the needs of patient and carers did not change, in that, we retained face-to-face contact throughout covid balanced with telephone or video contacts, depending on patient choice and level of need as we had done before.”
Read more:
- Harrogate needs mental health crisis team ‘at earliest opportunity’
- Harrogate families describe anguish of mental health problems and impact of Briary Unit closure
- Bilton man says government is failing young people with mental health issues
In March 2021, health bosses told the Stray Ferret that the team needed to return at the “earliest opportunity”.
When the Briary Wing closed in April 2020, inpatient mental health services transferred to York.
North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys medical services for the county, said the transfer of inpatient beds “released £500,000”, which could be invested in community mental health services.
Have you been affected by this change in mental health services? Get in touch at [email protected]
