By Hull Daily Mail

January 23, 2015

CALL FOR CHANGE: MP Alan Johnson has campaigned for better mental health services for young people since the closure of the West End unit in Hessle.

YOUNG people in Hull are falling victim to the Government’s failure to provide sufficient in-patient mental health services in Hull, says MP Alan Johnson.

The MP for Hull West and Hessle, himself a former Health Secretary, has been demanding better mental health services for children and young people since the closure of the West End unit in Hessle in 2013.

He has now raised the issue in Parliament again after the Mail revealed the plight last week of Maisie Shaw, a 13-year-old girl who has been sent to Sheffield for treatment, and Jordan Hatfield, 15, who was sent to Manchester because there is nowhere for them to go in Hull. Mr Johnson told the House of Commons: “We can’t go on letting our children down in this horrendous way.”

West End provided inpatient care for children for 20 years.

When NHS England took over responsibility for inpatient care, known as Tier 4 services, they said all units had to be open seven days a week.

However, Mr Johnson said the option to extend the unit to offer a seven-day service was never considered.

Mr Johnson has been dealing with several cases in his constituency, including one teenager who suffered a mental breakdown at the age of 11 and has been sent away from Hull for treatment 19 times.

“And we get the hospital trust picking up the pieces because there is nowhere else for people to go other than A&E.

Credit: The Hull Daily Mail

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