HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SW1A 0AA
2 February 2008
Dear Clive
I must respond to the letter from S Godwin,
"Lea Castle already sold off?" in last week's Shuttle to
put the facts, as far as I know them, straight.
The bulk of the Lea Castle site was sold long ago
and most of it is now moth-balled and sadly almost derelict. I shall
try to find out what happened to the money raised by the sale as I
do not think it was reserved for NHS use.
The small parts of the site still used by the NHS
under the management of the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership
trust are still owned by the NHS. These include Brunel Ward, some
bungalows and the old Maple Ward which is now offices and
outpatients. I have not been involved in any talks about the
disposal of these parts of the site and those who were at the three
meetings at Lea Castle on 11 and 14 January with staff, users,
carers and management will know that there is no firm date for the
closure of Lea Castle. The rumour that it would close in July was
denied categorically by the Chief Executive of the trust. My notes
of the two meetings with staff on 11 January are available on my
website - www.healthconcern.org.uk
It will be seen that my hope, for the benefit of users and staff, is
for the present services for Worcestershire people to be retained on
an appropriate, economically viable part of the Lea Castle site.
On 18
January I had a meeting with County Council and Primary Care Trust
officials to clarify their intentions for the future provision for
Worcestershire users. My notes of this meeting are also available on
the web.
With the
debacle of Kidderminster Hospital downgrading consultation, now ten
years ago, we discovered that it was legal to consult on a trust's
preferred option so there is nothing illegal about making it clear
that closure of the Lea Castle Centre is the trust's preferred
option. It is likely that this option will be accepted because the
current situation is economically unviable. Our battle has to be for
the replacement of all services provided for Worcestershire people,
hopefully at Lea Castle, but in any case easily accessible for Wyre
Forest people.
Yours
truly,
Richard
Taylor MP
