Move sparks concerns over fate of mental health centre

VOLUNTEERS and service users at a Lothians mental health centre say they face losing a £50,000 Lottery boost and fear being shut down after the local authority advertised the contract for the running of the facility.

East Lothian Council has tendered the 171,000 contract for the running of Tynepark Resource Centre in Haddington, sparking fears among those that use the service that the 19-year-old operation will be scrapped in favour of a support team which will tour the county.

And they claim that the council's actions has led to a 50,000 Lottery grant to build allotments on the centre's extensive grounds being frozen until the future of the facility has been secured.

In response the council has said it will carry out a consultation across the county to determine if residents would benefit from a wider-reaching service.

Volunteer Veronica Forrest claimed the centre's 84 users, who have a range of conditions including bipolar and schizophrenia, have been affected by the uncertainty surrounding the future of Tynepark.

The 51-year-old said: "The council do not seem to think that what we are doing here is worthwhile, but so many people rely on this place to get by.

"I can't bear to imagine some of our service users turning up at a random community centre or hall somewhere looking for help. You have to see the progress we make here to understand how much vulnerable people can improve, make friends, find somewhere that they can feel comfortable.

"What the council do not understand is that we have the most beautiful grounds here provided by the Church of Scotland, which in itself is amazingly therapeutic for service users." She added: "The number of classes and sessions on offer is immense and most could not be held anywhere else. The service we have here could not be replicated elsewhere."

Ms Forrest added that Tynepark had been due to start work on a 50,000 garden and allotment expansion when the council advertised the contract, prompting the lottery body to freeze the payment, which was awarded on the basis of the continuation of the centre.

She said: "It was two days before we were due to start the work, which would have given the people that come here jobs for a year and allotments at the end, when we found out from the council. Unless we can prove we have a future we're not going to get that money."

CrossReach - formerly the Church of Scotland Board of Social Responsibility - says it will consider submitting a bid to continue running the centre when the council releases further details surrounding the new contract. Calum Murray, CrossReach's director of adult care, said: "We understand East Lothian Council's intention is to serve a greater number of people with their limited resources, and we sympathise with their imperative.

"We will consider submitting a bid once the tender information becomes available from the council, which is not expected until spring next year. Discussions are ongoing with their representatives and we are very keen to keep a mental health resource in the area."

A spokeswoman for East Lothian Council said that the authority is obliged to regularly review all services provided by external suppliers, adding that it would consult with residents across the county to determine what kind of service they want.

She said: "As this process is at such an early stage it is both unfortunate and undesirable that speculation has led to distress amongst some service users."