Whalton Unit in Morpeth to permanently move as campaigners say patients lose 'privacy and dignity'

A "temporarily" closed elderly care unit is set to be permanently moved to Wansbeck Hospital.

NHS bosses argue transferring the work of the 30-bed Whalton Unit, in Morpeth, to the hospital eight miles away will "improve patient care and safety".

But campaigners who've fought to keep the local unit open say they're being robbed of "privacy and dignity" at the end of life.

The unit, which provides specialist rehabilitative care for frail, elderly patients closed "temporarily" in December, moving to Wansbeck due to low staff numbers. But on Wednesday, the NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) announced it had agreed with the local NHS trust's decision to make the move permanent.

Barbara Ross, one of the Morpeth residents who have been petitioning NHS bosses to return the unit to its original home, said: "We are obviously very disappointed with the decision. We've heard many moving stories while we've been campaigning.

"Myself, I was able to be with my mother when she was dying, she spent two weeks in the Whalton Unit in a private room, we were able to stay with her so she wasn't alone in that time, and you just can't have that in a ward situation where you've only got a curtain around you.

"It's just not an appropriate way to die. So much emphasis is put on birth now, making everything right for the parents, but death is as important. People only have one opportunity to say goodbye to their loved ones and they need to do that closer to home, in privacy and dignity. I can see it's convenient for the trust to have their resources in one place, but it does have an impact on communities."

The unit's main function is for rehabilitation, and she argued patients' wellbeing is improved and recovery speeded up by staying close to home, with loved ones in reach.

However, Northumberland NHS leaders argue better care can can be provided in Wansbeck.

A spokesperson for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said it had been easier to recruit nurses since the move and that more observation of patients had led to fewer of them needing emergency care.

Dr Graham Syers, clinical director of primary care at the CCG, said: “We appreciate that local people who have campaigned for the return of the Whalton Unit to Morpeth will be disappointed by this decision, however, the governing body was satisfied that, due to the improvements in patient safety since the move to Wansbeck hospital, this is the right thing to do.

“This is coupled with the planned improvements in the community which will see better support in people’s own homes and in nursing homes alongside specialist palliative care and enhancements to the environment at Wansbeck hospital.

“We would like to thank the campaign group for its input and everyone who has taken the time to give their views as part of the engagement process – this was a comprehensive exercise and mirrored what would happen in a full public consultation.

“We will continue to work closely with the trust to ensure people in Morpeth continue to have access to high quality care in hospital and in the community.”

Ms Ross said that, despite the closure, she was pleased the campaign group had managed to inform locals about the issue, and had successfully campaigned for transport to be provided for relatives and carers, as well as more rehabilitation space on the Wansbeck ward.

Marion Dickson, executive director of nursing, midwifery, allied health professionals, surgery and community care at Northumbria Healthcare, said: “We welcome today’s decision by the CCG and are committed to working with them to make improvements to care in the community in Morpeth and to the ward at Wansbeck hospital.

“We will continue to provide a transport service for people who would find it difficult to travel from Morpeth to Wansbeck hospital to visit relatives and would encourage families to speak to ward staff to arrange this.

“The improvements in patient care since the move to Wansbeck have been demonstrable with the boost to our nursing teams – in numbers and in skill mix – also having a positive impact on the unit and on staff morale. While our patient experience figures have dipped slightly, these still remain high overall and we will continue to monitor these to ensure that our patients have the best experience of care possible.”

The decision will now be put before Northumberland County Council’s health and wellbeing overview and scrutiny committee, who will decide whether a full public consultation is required.