Hackney impasse threatens units

Two mental health residential units could face closure because of a
disagreement over which council department should provide funding,
it has been claimed.

The two units, run by the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association
(PRA) in Hackney, east London, are home to 12 residents.

Because many of the residents are now old, the National Care
Standards Commission has recommended that staff should be on duty
during the evening. When the PRA asked Hackney’s mental health
services for additional funding, it was told that this should come
from the older people’s budget.

John Wilder, director of PRA, said: “If we don’t get something
agreed soon, we may have to close the projects.” A Hackney Council
spokesperson said mental health services were funding people at
both units, and that care was planned on the basis of assessed
needs.