Burt Backs Calls To Save Sheffield House

4.28.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 12th May 2008

Richard Burt (centre) with Councillor Penelope Morgan (left) talking to the Chairman of Malvern MIND, Bob Leverrett (right), outside Sheffield House

Local Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate, Richard Burt has added his voice to the campaign to save Sheffield House in Malvern as a step up/step down facility for mental health service users in Worcestershire.

Richard met members of MIND in Malvern to listen to their arguments before writing to Worcestershire Mental Health Trust Director, Mick Mather during the consultation period to decide on the future of the centre, which the Trust want to close.

Richard Burt said: "I decided to back the campaign after listening to Bob Leverett and others at MIND describe how important the services on offer at Sheffield House had been towards aiding their recovery.

"Sheffield House bridges the gap between hospital and home, providing the ideal opportunity for service users to access a range of therapeutic treatments, to aid progress to independent living and to allow qualified staff to interact with service users at an appropriate level.

"It would be wrong to scrap the facilities at Sheffield House because they are the Rolls-Royce service for the county.

"We should be doing more to enhance and extend this kind of facility rather than try to replace it with an arrangement that service users clearly do not want.

"Hopefully the Trust will listen to their pleas."