By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
There are concerns Wotton Lawn Hospital bosses “don’t really give a s**t” about patients amid plans to remove or substantially reduce the size of the onsite gym.
The acute mental health hospital in Horton Road, Gloucester has 88 beds and provided inpatient services for the county.
The site has a gym which is used by patients for rehabilitation. Yoga, pilates and other exercise classes are done there.
But insiders fear plans to make best use of the space will see patients lose out.
A source, who says they are speaking out because they have a duty of care to their patients, said they are concerned about plans which would see the site’s gym significantly reduced in size or lost completely.
They said the site has been deemed not fit for purpose due to the changes regarding the detentions by police under section 136 of the Mental Health Act.
Section 136 gives police the power to remove someone to a place of safety for up to 24 hours for a mental health assessment.
And Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust says they are improving the environment at their health based place of safety (Section 136 suite).
“It’s just the patients that suffer,” a source said. “If you look into the literature, physical health and mental health are linked.
“We all know that, and it just really seems like a kick in the balls. I just really feel like they just don’t really give a s**t about the patients that much.
“It’s a gym that the patients use currently.
“But they’re saying they want five metres by five metres which is hardly enough room to put one treadmill in there.”
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust said they want to make sure they make the best use of space at Wotton Lawn Hospital. They are taking all viewpoints into account regarding their plans for the site, they said.
“We are carrying out a review to ensure we are making the best use of space on the Wotton Lawn Hospital site,” a spokesperson said. “We need to balance our aims of providing high quality therapeutic support to inpatients while also improving the environment at our health based place of safety (Section 136 suite).
“We are taking all viewpoints into account and will update our teams, patients and carers in due course.”