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Chase Farm psychiatric unit destroyed in fire a blow to mental health provision in London

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The destruction of the secure psychiatric unit at Chase Farm hospital in Enfield will put more pressure on scarce secure psychiatric services in north London and may put the public at risk with mentally ill patients unable to be treated who suffer from acute schizophrenia.

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Over 20 fire engines attended a fire at the psychiatric wing of the Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield north London, which has caused the destruction of around 70 per cent of the building which provides a secure facility for acute cases of mental illness. There have be no confirmed injuries to either patients or the fire fighters. The cause of the fire has not been given, arson has not been ruled out given the nature of some of the patients housed at the unit.

Fire Chief Gary Reason speaking to the London Daily News said:

"The fire was controlled by our fire fighters who attended the incident from Enfield and other fire stations in north London. We have tried to save the building but the upper tears are totally destroyed".

Access to the hospital has been restricted with police limiting traffic into the hospital for essential traffic only.

The mental health unit at Chase Farm hospital is one of the largest secure units in north London and the damage to the building will be a severe blow to the provision of mental health care with the only other secure unit St Ann's in Tottenham struggling to cope with patients.

Chase Farm hospital has been earmarked by the government for closure with A&E and maternity services moving to Barnet General hospital with the local Conservative party candidate Nick De Bois describing the cuts at Chase Farm Hospital as "devastating".

photo credit: Night photo of damage London Daily News

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David Marsden

Date Added: Friday 17 October, 2008

People with schizophrenia are more likely to be victims of violence, but the generally accepted public perception is still one of dangerousness. - http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/40/17/16 - http://www.rethink.org/how_we_can_help/news_and_media/briefing_notes/briefing_3.html According to Chase Farm Hospital, services and security are not and were not affected by the fire: - http://www.bcf.nhs.uk/our_services/index.shtm - http://www.bcf.nhs.uk/for_media/2008/camlet_fire_update.pdf - http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/localnews/3763769.Chase_farm_blaze_devastates_all_three_floors_of_psychiatric_unit/

Solomon Greenburg

Date Added: Thursday 16 October, 2008

Clearly who ever thinks that "business as normal" will be the order of the day Chase Farm must be on something. Have you seen the buildings? I would not trust a word that comes out of the mouth from any of the management at Chase Farm. No more propoganda about peoples lives good on the London Daily News for telling the truth, dangerous mentally ill patients need to be in secure units.

Mark Johnson

Date Added: Thursday 16 October, 2008

Camlet Lodge is a secure mental health unit for those remanded into psychiatric care by a judge during a criminal trial or committed by a psychiatric professional on the grounds that they represent a danger to the public (not just to themselves). Perhaps the term 'secure mental health unit' could have been expanded upon to clarify comments made about the 'residents'.

Katie Cox

Date Added: Thursday 16 October, 2008

I feel I should draw attention to the negative inferences about people with mental health problems which could be drawn from this article, in the hope that its author might consider more carefully the language they use when reporting on mental health issues. There is a public misconception that people with mental health problems are more dangerous, and more likely to be criminals, than people without mental health problems. This notion is not supported by statistics, yet it is continually perpetuated (perhaps unintentionally) in the media. In this particular article, I feel that the phrase 'arson has not been ruled out given the nature of some of the patients housed at the unit' implies that people with mental health problems are, by their nature, more likely to be arsonists. Also, the idea that the fire 'may put the public at risk with mentally ill patients unable to be treated who suffer from acute schizophrenia' suggests that simply suffering from schizophrenia makes one a danger to the general public. The author of this article may not be aware that people with mental health problems are not inherently dangerous or likely to be criminal, and may simply be repeating ideas that they themselves have absorbed from other media sources. I urge them to review the research into the supposed link between schizophrenia and criminality, and to avoid using language which will pass on their unconsidered assumptions to others. Public prejudice against people with mental health problems has been shown to be an important factor in the creation and maintenance of those problems. Journalists have an important role to play in reducing stigma by reporting responsibly.

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