Elderly Confused to be Shuffled Off? (Southport Liberal Democrats)

Southport Liberal Democrats <info@southportlibdems.org.uk>

Elderly Confused to be Shuffled Off?

October 20, 2009 2:35 PM

MerseycareTrust who provide in patient dementia care at the Boothroyd Ward on the old infirmary site could be moving inpatients to Aintree Hospital as part of a cost cutting exercise - a move that local MP John Pugh dubbed as 'scandalous'.

It is one of a series of suggestions put forward by the Trust to deal with a forthcoming financial crisis that could see spending cut by 20%. The MP has told Merseycare that its simply 'not on' saying "This proposal needs to be stopped in its tracks now."

John explained: "People who use this service are often very confused, unable to speak up for themselves and often with elderly spouses who cannot travel . There are no decent public transport links to Aintree. I'm frankly disgusted this is on the agenda at all. We have rising levels of dementia in Southport a more elderly population and previously have been promised new facilities. The trust states itself that it has it 110 fewer beds than it should have and is now planning to reduce capacity further."

He added: "I have been told that the move to Aintree is just at the idea stage but we have heard this before and staff in Southport have indicated that they have been asked to prepare for the move. It's such a fundamentally cruel thing to suggest that people whose lives and families are already blighted should have further woe inflicted on them. You dont get an inpatient bed unless everyone's at the end of their tether.

"It's also so stupid to move services further away from most of its users. It is unlikely that patients using this facility will ever vote, complain or even appreciate properly what is happening to them but that is absolutely no reason to treat their needs or those of their families with disregard."