"The people of York deserve a visionary new hospital"

ONE year ago, Bootham Park Hospital in York was closed with just five days notice. Since then anyone needing admission to a psychiatric hospital has had to be transferred over fifty miles away to Middlesbrough and beyond. The Trust which took over York mental health services, TEWV, are in the process of converting Peppermill Court to accommodate in-patents on a temporary basis, but the opening has been put back after a fire.

Much has been written about the reasons for the closure. Briefly the regulating body, the CQC, closed the hospital as they said they could not register it for the new Trust to take over. Repairs and changes to the fixtures to make the hospital safer had not been completed within the time scale allotted to the ‘owners’ of the hospital, NHS Property Services. The CQC were not prepared to allow more time, so they declined to register it.

This decision was unprecedented and could be described as more risky to service users than keeping the hospital open. Bootham Park had become a victim of the NHS ‘market’ where organisations within the NHS compete with each other As Bootham Park looks like a stately home rather than a hospital, not everyone is aware that it was purpose built as a psychiatric hospital in 1777, following public subscription. In fact it was one of the first purpose-built psychiatric hospitals to be established in Great Britain. It has had many ups and downs in its career and poor care at Bootham Park in 1790 was one of the reasons that the Quakers, lead by Samuel Tuke, built the Retreat Hospital, also situated in York. The famous architect John Carr, who also designed the City Hospital and Harewood House, drew up the plans for the front part of Bootham Park. Some of the names of the benefactors are still displayed in the boardroom.

I am sure you will recognise the names of at least two of these. The other benefactors were all prominent citizens of York who donated money for the good of the community, rather than salt it away in tax havens or spend it on super-yachts. If Bootham Park is sold, I have been informed that any proceeds of the sale will go into the national NHS deficit and will therefore not be available to redevelop York mental health services.

Bootham Park is as beautiful within as it appears from outside. The entrance area and corridors have a Minton tiled floor and in those days great care was taken to provide attractive architraves and plaster work. The John Carr building is Grade I listed.

In the nineteenth century further additions were made to the rear and these were also built to a high standard. Prior to the start of the closure of psychiatric beds in the 1970s, Bootham Park had six wards as evidenced by the old alarm system on the wall of Ward 8.

Prior to its closure last year there were just three wards remaining.

In my latter years at Bootham Park I was consultant to Ward 2.

Wards 1 and 2 had a major upgrade in 2011. Dormitories were done away with and replaced with single rooms, many with ensuite facilities.

When I worked there we had a café run by service users, a valuable opportunity to learn transferable skills and a resource for staff and patients alike. The room where this café was situated used to have a number of photographs on the walls depicting life in the hospital many years ago. At one time the café area was used as a bowling alley.

So what will happen to Bootham Park now?

TEWV have promised to build a new state-of-the-art psychiatric hospital for York by January 2019. A public consultation has started to look at three sites in York, one of which includes the Bootham Park site. As citizens of York you will be able to give your view. Some of the buildings to the rear of Bootham Park have now been de-listed so it may be possible to build a new hospital there. However this would require a visionary architect, perhaps of the quality of John Carr.

Whether this will be possible remains to be seen, but wouldn’t it be a shame if Bootham Park were to be sold and this attractive site in the centre of York be lost to public use for ever? It is about time that patients who suffer from mental illness have parity of care with other medical conditions and have the benefit of a visionary new hospital built for them, as happened way back in the eighteenth century.

- The Walk back to Bootham event will begin at the Minster at 6pm on Friday and is expected to end at about 9pm.