THE impending closure of an acute mental health unit in south Cumbria has prompted a public outcry over concerns patients in crisis will no longer receive safe care.

It was announced on Tuesday that the Kentmere Unit, at Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal, is to close next month after it government inspectors deemed it was no longer fit for purpose.

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But mental health bosses have now issued an assurance that expert staff from the ward will be transferred to the area's community crisis team to provide care for people in their own homes around the clock.

They also claim it is unlikely fears people will have to be placed in inpatient wards hundreds of miles away from their home will come to fruition.

A spokesman for the Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services in Cumbria, said: "As a trust our priority is the safety of our patients and providing high quality services as close to their homes as possible. 

"We know that patients recover more quickly if they are closer to home nearer family and friends. 

"The closure of Kentmere will allow us to re-deploy some of our existing ward staff who have been rated as exceptionally caring by the care quality commission to provide greater support in community settings. 

"There is very good national evidence to suggest that where there is enhanced 24 hour home treatment teams provided in communities, that it reduces the need for inpatient admissions."

They added: "We do not anticipate that there will be an increased need to send patients out of county, however we will monitor this closely as we implement changes."

But Barrow Borough Council's health and well-being spokesman, Councillor Michael Cassells, said the pledge of additional care in the community must become a 'cast iron guarantee' to ensure people are kept safe and well.

Cllr Cassells told the Evening Mail: "I've been inundated with emails and calls from people who are really worried and frightened about what the closure of this unit means for them.

"They are unnerved that this has been announced so quickly with no consultation.

"What I am seeking now is an assurance that the staff we have on that unit will be transferred to the community and crisis teams in the area.

"It's no good saying that's what they hope will happen, we need a cast iron guarantee."

Cllr Cassells added: "Anyone who needs an inpatient bed will be provided with one, I understand.

"But delivered properly, care at home could be a very positive move for other patients."

CPFT medical director Dr Andrew Brittlebank confirmed this week that safety concerns over the ward's mixed-sex, dormitory style accommodation were behind the decision to close its doors for good.

Barrow's Dova Unit, based at Furness General Hospital, will increase its capacity to provide four extra beds to help meet the demand for inpatient accommodation.

It will leave a void of eight inpatient beds across south Cumbria.