Sad to see Mount Gould care centre has closed

IT was with sadness I read in today's Herald of the closure of the Short Term Care Centre at Mount Gould Hospital, where I was a patient in 2023. It is a superb facility and the care and physiotherapy I received greatly aided my return home.

- Frances May

My time there followed a spell in the very pressured Derriford Hospital and a care home (necessary as my sons live far distant). This latter was depressing as, despite lovely staff who cared for me well, an establishment dealing with dementia patients was not a suitable place for someone who had merely broken a leg. I feel exceedingly fortunate in finally, thanks to a visiting social worker, being given a place at the Mount Gould STCC.

The authorities state there has been a reduced need for the beds in the Centre over the last 12 months as more people are cared for at home. I wonder if any of them were given the opportunity of a place at the STCC, or just told they were going home?

It is a dispiriting thought that this wonderful facility and staff, including on site physiotherapists, is going to be lost to us and I fear that the only alternative, for those like me with no family support at home, will be a Care Home. Surely if the building needs work then do it and make the closure only temporary.

This comes on top of the decision last November to close one ward of the Discharge to Home facility, also on the grounds it was no longer needed. It only opened in 2023 so that was another £5 million down the drain. Over the years this has followed on the closure of the Mount Gould Walk In Centre and the loss of the £40 million Cavell Centre at Western Approach, downgraded to a £25 million Diagnostic Centre.