THE permanent closure of a safe place for mental health patients in a crisis could pile pressure on other services, warn campaigners.

A protest was held outside the Sandalwood Court place of safety service, in Stratton, yesterday which takes in patients suffering a mental health crisis.

The Swindon Clinical Commissioning Group wants to move the service to a centre in Devizes, after a trial there over the past year.

Samantha Wathen, from Keep Our NHS Public, said: “There should be a place of safety locally. Swindon is Wiltshire’s most heavily populated town. We do not feel there have been sufficient measures taken to create a place of safety locally or other nearby locations looked at.

“It contravenes the local strategic needs assessment which advocates the need for this centre locally, so its against local and national policy.

“It could end up putting extra pressure on A&E departments, and police, although this hasn’t happened yet, but there’s more chance of that happening.These people are having a crisis, they aren’t criminals.”

More than 2,130 people signed a Change.org petition calling on the Swindon CCG to keep the centre open.

Health chiefs are due to make the final decision on closing the centre next month.

A spokesman for the Swindon CCG said: “The Care Quality Commission was explicit in saying that changes had to be made to Swindon’s place of safety Suite, which was why the temporary closure was first brought in and why we, along with Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, have continued to keep people updated and ask for their views at every stage.

“All feedback collected over the last 12 months will be used to help us reach an informed decision regarding the future of the facility.”

Mathew Page, the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust Chief Operating Officer, said: “Swindon CCG, on behalf of the two CCGs, is leading on the evaluation of this pilot, which has included gathering feedback from service users and partners at every stage.

“The analysis within the evaluation requires further time before it is completed and submitted to NHS England.

“Swindon and Wiltshire CCGs, along with AWP, have agreed that the pilot at the Bluebell Unit at Green Lane Hospital in Devizes will continue to operate until the evaluation process is complete and to ensure high standards of service and availability continue.”