Last updated 00:22, Tuesday, 15 July 2008

PLANS to move Allerdale’s community mental health team from Workington to Wigton have been revealed.

The older people’s and adults teams, which are based at Workington’s Community Hospital and Lillyhall, will be housed in one building in Wigton if proposals get the go-ahead.

Staff from the community mental health team have been told of plans to move the base to the Brookside Centre, Wigton, but they say it should not affect patients, who will still be seen in their homes.

One worker, who would not be named, said: “The people of Workington will be unhappy about taking our services to Wigton.

“People in Workington don’t see Wigton as part of Allerdale. It is on the edge.

“We can respond quickly to people now.

“All my patients are in Workington and Maryport, but if we were based in Wigton we would not be based in the community we work in.”

She added that bosses were setting up a working party to look at the proposals and were talking about moving in 12 months.

The plans will affect psychiatric nurses, social workers, social therapists, admin staff, psychologists and consultant psychologists.

A spokeswoman for Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are still exploring options for staff accommodation, but would like to emphasise that this will not affect service user care in any way.

“Service users will not have to travel to receive care from the team.

“There are no clear dates as to when a move may happen.

“The accommodation at Park Lane in Workington has its limitations.”