The purpose of this petition is to raise awareness of the intended closure of the only residential mental illness facility in South Warwickshire.

This facility has 6 bedrooms providing short-term accommodation for people suffering a mental health crisis, which is often life-saving. It is with potential catastrophic consequences that this much depended upon facility is due close on 31st march 2015.

The crisis house, based in Leamington Spa, is run by the charity Rethink who are a nationwide mental health charity.  Rethink are currently supported to deliver this facility with funding from the NHS but this critical funding is to be stopped and the building sold.

There are no plans to open another.

As many as 1 in 4 people suffer mental health problems and this facility both safeguards and protects those most vulnerable when in the deepest depths of despair. Therefore closure will not just be detrimental to the mental stability of those battling mental health conditions but the potential danger to life will be increased. 

The only alternative would be admission to the nearest psychiatric hospital which is already at breaking point being full to capacity. Park House has a significantly faster recovery rate compared to hospital admittance whilst offering a cost saving with beds charged at approximately £60 per bed per night, compared to £360 per bed per night in psychiatric ward.

On a personal level as a service user I give my personal thanks for reading and signing this petition. It is an invaluable service that has made a vast difference in the darkest times of my life. People do not ask for a mental health illness, and it can feel relentless, especially if your diagnosis is long term and non-responsive to medication.  We fight a war every day, often without a voice.

It has given me time to build myself emotionally when fragile and being a non-threatening environment, allowing my children to visit without worrying about its impact.

In conclusion, closure will not only remove patient choice, resulting in unsuitable care, increase in self harm, but inevitably higher suicide rates.

This facility has helped save my life, and many more like me, on several occasions. Without it, I fear I will be lost.