Dementia patients and familes ‘distressed’ at move out of Chadwell Heath centre
Dementia sufferers and their families are devastated at being moved out of a centre in Chadwell Heath.
The Grovelands Day Hospital is used for daycare and workshops for over-65s with mental health or memory problems.
But in July the service will be moved to Goodmayes Hospital when Grovelands, in Grove Road, is taken over by a child centre.
Estelle Lubin, who goes there with her husband Martin, was concerned that patients would be treated as a “number rather than a person” at the larger hospital, in Barley Lane.
She added: “My husband has vascular dementia and it’s the most wonderful play to go to if you need anything like this.
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“He’s been there twice now and it’s brilliant.
“They are absolutely distressed at the thought of moving because it’s really a lovely little place – it’s personal.”
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Mrs Lubin wants the planned change to stop, adding that large changes can be very distressing for people with dementia and the longer journey will be difficult for elderly people.
A spokesman for the North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), which runs the service, emphasised that it would remain the same at Goodmayes Hospital.
She added: “We want to reassure service users that we will continue to offer the same high-quality memory service when it moves to Goodmayes.
“Once the detail has been worked through we will communicate fully with service users and their carers.”
Grovelands will house the Redbridge child development centre, which is moving out of its current base in Barkingside because the lease is due to expire.
The Care Quality Commission had declared it unfit for purpose and a Redbridge Council scrutiny group recommended the change.
The NELFT spokesman added: “We are confident that the plans for both services will benefit the users and will be reassuring them that there will be no reduction or change to the services they receive.”
