AN NHS organisation previously responsible for running Bootham Park Hospital has said it did all it could to resolve the situation - and has blamed others for the closure.

Documents due to be discussed by officials next week show the Care Quality Commission (CQC) decided to close the Grade-I listed psychiatric hospital over concerns about suicide due to ligature points, that staff were unable to see all parts of the ward, concerns over scalding hot water and poor hygiene and infection control in two of the wards.

The decision to close on October 1 means there are no psychiatric beds available in York or the surrounding area - and that inpatients will have to be sent out-of-area for the foreseeable future.

Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) - which was in charge of running mental health services in York until October 1 - has submitted its own assessment of events leading to the closure, stating the effects of Government restructuring of the NHS "found themselves being played out in York".

The closure could have been avoided if improvement work at Bootham Park had been completed in the timeframes agreed by the York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS property service, it said. Problems were seriously exacerbated by the CCG's decision to award the mental health contract to another organisation.

"The timing of the service transfer appears to have forced the CQC to take a very hard stance," the report states, adding, "LYPFT believed it has tried its utmost to resolve the Bootham Park Hospital issue in very difficult circumstances to all parties."

Following concerns raised by the CQC in 2013, the trust said it had proposed to move inpatients at Bootham Park Hospital to Peppermill Court and Cherry Tree House in 2014 but York CCG and NHS property services deemed it easier to make improvements to Bootham Park Hospital and to keep inpatients there.

"With the benefit of hindsight LYPFT regret not pushing the solution harder at the Bootham Park Hospital Board," the report states, "however at the time LYPFT was attempting to strengthen its relationship with the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group whilst finding itself peripheral to the estates making process."

However, another report written by City of York Council and due to be presented to the Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday appears to place some blame with LYPFT.

The report states inspectors were concerned with LYPFT's delays in implementing CQC recommendations.

It states it was agreed to stay at Bootham Park after the chief executive of LYPFT assured "the trust had undertaken systematic auditing and monitoring of risk". When delays to the project became apparent, "Members [of the committee] were assured that the trust would ensure delivery of the action plan even if they happened not to be the provider of mental health services in York."