LANCASTER HOSPITAL DETOXIFICATION UNIT CLOSURE

That this House notes with concern the proposal by the Morecambe Bay Primary Care Trust (PCT) to close the Castle Unit at the Ridge Lea Hospital in Lancaster; further notes that this unit provides inpatient drug and alcohol detoxification treatment to some of North Lancashire's most vulnerable people; further notes that the Castle Unit is the only one of its kind between Glasgow and Preston; believes that the home-detoxification treatment service which the PCT proposes to introduce following the unit's closure would be wholly inappropriate for homeless patients; is appalled that this proposal has been put forward because of severe financial pressures; urges the Government to place quality of patient care and the long-term interests of the NHS before financial expedience; and calls upon the Government to review the proposed closure.