NHS mental health provider suddenly withdraws specialist depression treatment
Patients using a specialist magnetic treatment at Berrywood Hospital in Northampton have been told their treatment will end next week
By Sarah Ward
Some patients with severe depression are having their treatment withdrawn at short notice by the county’s NHS mental health provider.
People who use the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at Berrywood Hospital in Northampton have recently been told that the lifeline service is to be withdrawn from next week, and no alternatives have as yet been provided. About 100 people currently access the service provided by Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT).
NN Journal has heard from patients and staff who have huge concerns about the shutdown of the service, which for many is the only treatment that has worked to help with their severe depression.
rTMS is a non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the brain and is often used to treat depression where other medication or treatment have failed, as it targets the brain circuits involved in mood regulation. For some patients it is the only treatment that has been able to successfully treat their depression.
One user, who has been able to stop taking prescribed drugs due to the rTMS service, said the letter sent out over the past two days to users is ‘outrageous and goes nowhere near explaining to users what is going to happen for them short, medium or long term.’
The rtMS service is their only form of mental health support and has been successful in helping to relieve their depression.
The letter from NHFT chief nurse Liz Chibuzor apologises for the trust’s decision.*
It said:
“We are aware this will be a change for people who use the service and are committed to supporting you through this.
“Your care and treatment remains a priority for us. Between 1-18 Apil we will contact all current service users individually to discuss your needs. As everyone is in different stages of treatment, it is not possible to provide details in this letter about what treatment options will be available to you going forward.
“We are sorry that we have had to make this decision and for any impact on you individually. Please be assured that we will do all we can to support you during this change.”
It goes on to say that every patient will have a review and the health provider will work with them to ‘adapt current treatment options’ and devise a new safety plan that links to support networks.
One staff member thinks the sudden withdrawal of the service for already vulnerable people could have significant consequences for some patients who are already extremely vulnerable.
Staff who work in the service, which is part of the Centre for Neuromodulation, are unsure what will happen with their jobs.
We asked the trust if the decision was being driven by financial concerns and why the patients had been given such short notice of their treatment withdrawal and received the following response:
“As a Trust we are committed to ensuring we are providing treatments which are safe for our service users. Due to changes in our workforce and the service, we can no longer maintain a safe staffing model for us to provide rTMS treatment. This was a clinically led decision following a review of all the options.
“We are currently contacting all current service users about this change. They will then all receive a clinical review to understand their needs and we will work together with them to adapt current treatment options based on this change.
“If anyone requires mental health support at this time, we would encourage them to call the Mental Health Number on 0800 448 0828 – lines are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you live outside of Northamptonshire, please call 111 and select option 2 for local support in your area.”
The treatment is available elsewhere in Northants, from a private provider, but many of the current users will not be able to afford the treatment. NHFT is not offering to fund the same treatment by referring current patients to other providers. According to the latest finance figures reported to the board this morning, the trust is £2.8m overspent. It spends around £350m each year and employs around 5,000 staff.
*an earlier version of this article incorrectly said the trust has not apologised.