Poor relations for far too long

Health inspectors condemned Bootham Park Hospital as not up to standard for a modern mental health hospital months ago.

Now they say elderly people's wards run by the same health trust – the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust – are also inadequate.

The health trust runs mental health services in Leeds and York. But inspectors have pointed to a 'tale of two cities', with high standards in Leeds but serious concerns in York.

There has been talk for years about making improvements in York. Last April, the Leeds and York health trust 'confirmed' it had decided to close Bootham Park and replace it with a new hospital. But plans remain up in the air, and in the short term the trust has opted to spend £2.7 million refurbishing wards instead. It says a longer-term mental health strategy is also needed for York.

It is the job of the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group – the group of GPs with responsibility for commissioning health care in the York area – to produce that long-term strategy: and to produce it soon.

The Leeds and York Health Trust, meanwhile, must get on with improving Bootham Park. Mental health patients in York have been the poor relations for far too long.