A protest will be held in Shepton Mallet this weekend against the proposed closure of Mendip's only mental health ward.

St Andrew's Ward in Wells is Mendip's last adult mental health ward, and the decision by the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to close it followed a two and a half-year period of consultation with staff, patients, carers and colleagues in the voluntary sector and people with an interest in mental health to co-create a new model of mental health care for Somerset.

Together stakeholders developed a proposal to relocate 14 adult mental health beds from Wells to Yeovil.

However, the Save St Andrew's Ward Wells campaign say they have now been told that the ward closure has been put back to "no earlier than summer 2022".

Now a day of action has been organised in Shepton Mallet by the campaigners, to help raise awareness of the issue and gain signatures for their petition against the closure, which has currently been signed by more than 2,500 people.

It will take place at the bandstand in Collett Park tomorrow (Saturday June 26) with people asked to gather from 2.30pm for a 3pm start.

One of the campaign organisers, Emma King, told Shepton Mallet Nub News: "The Save St Andrew's Ward campaign, along with Save Somerset's Community Services, have been campaigning to save St Andrew's Ward since the CCG earmarked it for closure back in September 2020.

"The CCG plan to close the ward and move the beds to Yeovil, but this will leave the Mendip area without its much-needed mental health ward.

"The CCG claim that there is already sufficient in-patient provision in Somerset and yet we know that the NHS routinely checks people in mental health crisis into the Premier Inn, leaving them to be dealt with by the staff there rather than admitting them for the care and treatment that they need, creating a dangerous situation for all involved.

"The results of the Fit For My Future consultation have been sidelined by the CCG as the majority of the respondents wanted the ward to remain where it was, making the whole consultation an expensive and time-consuming formality.

"Transport issues are obviously a major concern and I asked the CCG what practical steps they had taken to deal with this issue, and essentially they have taken none, short of funding transport costs for people to visit, which will surely become extremely expensive very quickly.

"We want the CCG to build the ward at Yeovil, but to keep St Andrew's Ward open with the potential to reopen Phoenix Ward on the same site, in response to the growing need for mental health services, not only in the Mendip area, but also in areas adjacent to Mendip, where we know that people in the Bath and North East Somerset area are sent to Harrogate and people in crisis in Weston-super-Mare get sent to Leeds!

"Last month, we staged a small protest outside the CCG HQ in Yeovil at Wynford House where we printed out and handed in the petition so far, along with a freedom of information request.

"The CCG were unable to receive the petition personally, nor answer any of our questions, as they claim they are all still working from home, although the car park at Wynford House was not empty.

"We have already held a march in Wells and two-day of action/suicide awareness events in Wells and Glastonbury, with another one planned for Shepton in Collett Park this weekend.

"The closure of this ward will not only be a disaster for mental health care in our area, but it is indicative of the way in which rural communities are treated, with their local services regarded as expendable with the expectation that people can easily travel to the areas in which it is most convenient for the commissioning bodies, but not for the people who need these services.

"We are saying that we will not stand for the removal of any more of our services and demand that our remaining services are retained and improved.

"The population in this area is going up, and demand for mental health care is also going up, and with the South West being one of the worst areas for suicides in the country, this is not the time to remove our vital local lifelines."