Mental health workers will know within weeks where, or if, they will be moved in a £160m shake-up of service provision.

Doctors and NHS England bosses will scrutinise surveys carried out by South West London and St George's mental health trust (SWLSTG), which runs Tolworth and Springfield hospitals, that were designed to guide a revamp of "unsuitable" facilities.

The trust's preferred plan, of centralising all care in Springfield and Tolworth, would be funded by selling land.

The changes could mean patients are no longer seen at Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton, which treats 500 a year.

It was revealed last summer that SWLSTG planned to reduce inpatient beds across south-west London by 10 percent before 2018, and treat more people in the community.

Results of a public consultation, published on Monday, will be weighed up by NHS England and GPs on clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) over the next three weeks.

Dr Phil Moore, from Kingston CCG, said: "We are still delivering some mental health services using buildings first constructed over 150 years ago.

"We compromise on the dignity and respect of the people we look after at an incredibly vulnerable time in their lives.

"We compromise on the motivation of our staff by demanding their very highest standards whilst asking them to work in an environment we know is difficult."

SWLSTG bosses admitted in a planning application for new buildings at Tolworth that "none of the wards are fully compliant with modern standards."

They said the preferred revamp plan will save £26m over 50 years and improve conditions.

PREVIOUSLY

SWLSTG, which covers Kingston, Merton, Sutton, Richmond and Wandsworth, is battling for foundation trust status, which confers greater financial independence. It must make a £32m spending cut by 2020.

The results of its consultation will be debated at a Kingston CCG meeting at 1pm on Tuesday, March 3, at the King's Centre in Chessington.

Wandsworth CCG will hold its meeting on March 11 at its offices in Upper Richmond Road, East Putney, at 9.30am.

A final decision on which plan to implement will be taken at the end of March by the cross-borough joint health overview and scrutiny committee.

Wandsworth Times:

MP Norman Lamb, Tolworth Hospital, Springfield Hospital, Dr Phil Moore

  • Consultation

SWLSTG contacted more than 7,000 people as part of its consultation including staff, patients, carers and public bodies.

It also held meetings in five boroughs and set up a dedicated Twitter account to gather responses.

Some 283 people responded to the survey. A further 76 wrote letters or emails, while 191 attended question-and-answer meetings. Two people responded on Twitter.

Nearly two-thirds of those who read the plan to centralise services agreed with it, though a number stressed a need for "adequate investment in community services" to make sure people in all boroughs could access treatment.

A second option that would see services retained at Queen Mary's garnered only 30 percent support from people who gave an opinion - with more than half disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with it.

Wandsworth Times:

Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton

People who backed the second plan said poor public transport and congested roads could cause problems for patients and their families if they had to travel further.

That option, SWLSTG claimed, would cost an initial £140m plus another £42m over 50 years, rather than saving money.

Analysts Participate Ltd said in their report: "There were concerns that not all of the boroughs would have a satisfactory provision if services were removed from Queen Mary’s Hospital.

"Participants also suggested that investment should be made into staff and services, rather than buildings, to ensure high quality care."

To read the full consultation report, visit kingstonccg.nhs.uk.

  • Parity of esteem

Politicians and doctors working in mental health are campaigning for what they call "parity of esteem" - meaning that the treatment of mental illness should be taken as seriously as treatment of physical illness.

Minister Norman Lamb has called for "a cultural change in the NHS and care systems in order to remove the stigma which surrounds mental health across society."