North Devon link centres recommended to close

They provided a "lifeline" to people with mental health problems

Three centres which it’s claimed have provided a “lifeline” to people with mental health problems in North Devon for more than 30 years could be closed if a recommendation to Devon County Council’s cabinet is approved next week.

It follows two public consultations last year about closing ‘link centres’ in Bideford, Barnstaple and Ilfracombe in which 257 people responded, asking for the service to be retained.

The council claims the service isn’t being used for its original intention – to meet social care – but instead for mental health problems that are too complex to be managed in primary care. It says it is not “a crisis service”.

The council says more mental health services exist now than in 1992 when the link centres opened and they are being delivered in a different way through multi- agency teams.

It will recommend to its cabinet that it works with Devon Partnership NHS Trust and the Devon Mental Health Alliance to support all 130 people who attend the centres in their transition to alternative community support over a minimum period of three months.

Members will be told that Holsworthy Link service’s successful transfer to Holsworthy Youth and Community Hub, a community-led centre, had helped inform this proposal.

Closing the link centres will save the council £485,000 a year.

DCC said the service had been funded by adult social since its inception but the vast majority of people who attend don’t qualify under the Care Act 2014. Those who do will be given help to access alternative support.

Both Torridge District Council and North Devon Council backed the campaign to keep the centres open, claiming people with moderate-to-severe mental health problems don’t have alternatives.

They said link centres were safe spaces where people could join in with activities and therapies and get specialised help.

Mental health issues are on the rise in the districts and people going into hospital after self-harming are above average. Ilfracombe’s life expectancy 10 years is lower than the rest of Devon because of its deprivation.

Campaigners have been pushing for the return of GP referrals, more ability to self-refer and staff-led therapies which have been stopped since the pandemic.

Torridge District Councillor Cheryl Cottle Hunkin (Lib Dem, Shebbear and Langtree) said councillors had fought hard to retain the service but they were not being listened to.

“These are the most vulnerable people in our society and it’s a lifeline for many of them.  It’s where they feel safe. You can’t just expect people to take themselves off somewhere new when they have huge levels of anxiety.

“ Devon county keeps talking about alternatives but we haven’t seen any yet. “