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Petition rallying cry to try to save mental unit
A woman who has been treated at a mental health unit which is facing the axe will be collecting signatures for a petition to try to save the facilty from closure.
Louise Daley, 55, of Avenham, Preston, has bipolar disorder, which is a form of manic depression and she has been admitted to the Avondale Unit based at Royal Preston Hospital several times over the years.
Louise is outraged at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust’s decision to close the unit at the end of the year and is joining the campaign to save it from closing.
Together with daughter Louisa, Louise will be taking a stall at the Lancashire Market on Friargate, Preston, on Saturday and will be spending the day collecting signatures for a petition.
Louise, who has already collected more than 150 signatures, said: “I feel very strongly about the Avondale Unit as it is a safe haven for people with mental health issues and if it goes, it will take away all their hope.
“The last time I was a patient at Avondale was in 2008, but I have been in there around seven times over the years.”
Louise, who is married to Howard and is a mum-of-three, says if she ever had to be admitted to a mental health unit again, she would refuse to go if she was forced to go to another unit.
Louise said: “How can mental health chiefs expect people to travel to Blackpool, Chorley and West Lancashire and still keep in touch with their families?
“If I became ill again and had to go to an inpatient unit out of the area, I wouldn’t want to be taken away from my family and force them to make long journeys to come and see me.
“When you are suffering from a mental health problem, you need to be close to your family as their support is as vital as the professional help you need.”
Preston Mayor Coun Albert Richardson is also lending his support to the campaign.
He said: “It appears that however much the Government tries to make efficiencies and savings, it is always the most vulnerable people in society who are targeted.
“I will fight to stop any cuts that affect vulnerable people.”
Louise Daley will be at Lancashire Market in Preston on Saturday from 8.30am onwards collecting signatures for the petition.
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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Comments
There are 5 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
regreg
Monday, August 23, 2010 at 12:52 PMI completeley agree that the unit should not close, many patients from Preston already use the Chorley Unit when Avondale is full, but the Chorley unitis rarely full and does usually have patients from other areas. The annoyance for me is that no-one from Preston would ever back up the campaign or the annoyance faced by people from West Lancs who will have to travel up to Preston when the new unit is built. Public transport links from Preston to Chorley are very good, fairly cheap and do not take long. For those living in West Lancs, including Skelmersdale which is one of the most depriced parts of the county, it will take at least 2 hours and a fair amount of money. So I ask you, where will you all be then? will you be happy that at least it's in your back garden, or will you join in campaiging to have support in place for people in West Lancs? Non-one from Preston, Chorley or South Ribble has bothered to bat an eyelid about West Lancs so far, so somehow I suspect that when you get your shiny new unit you still won't
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 04:03 PMJust to let you know that we have set up a section on our website where we will be responding to comments and questions raised by newspaper stories. To view the page and see the responses, please visit the Lancashire Care website.
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 01:53 PMJust to let you know that we have set up a section on our website where we will be responding to comments and questions raised by newspaper stories. To view the page and see the responses, please visit www.lancashirecare.nhs.uk.php
concerned
Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 04:56 PMOnce I was admitted to the Avondale Unit and we were short of money, nothing for petrol or bus fare, my husband decided to walk, it was a nice day, point being if we'd no family to turn to how would he have got there if I was in Blackpool or Chorley, no visits means no loving family or friends to help you through a very difficult time.
Ayla
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 11:15 PMAnyone who has had a family member suffering from mental illness will know just how important contact with family and friends is. If Preston cant provide emergency beds and treatment for it's tax payers then God help those depending on the NHS.
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