Mental health charity was 'failing across all areas'

The national Mind charity has announced it had no choice but to disaffiliate from the West Cumbrian branch after it continued to fall below the expected standards.

On Friday Mind in West Cumbria announced it was unable to continue running due to the “changing climate” of the voluntary sector, and it would close at the end of next month.

But it has now been revealed that the charity was failing and complaints had been made to the national headquarters.

Current chairman Rod Earl, who joined Mind in West Cumbria’s board of trustees in January, has declined to comment on the subsequent reports that the charity has been stripped of its national title, following his initial statement on Friday.

He stepped up to the role of chairman last month after Dr Brian Campbell resigned due to health issues. The charity was based at the Town Hall in Workington but provided services across Copeland.

Efforts are now underway to make sure support is still available for those who need it and an appeal has been launched by Cumbria Community Foundation to raise £100,000 to fund mental health services in West Cumbria.

Amy Franklin, associate director of networks at Mind, said: “We have taken the decision to disaffiliate Mind in West Cumbria, which means they will no longer form part of the Mind network and will have to stop using the Mind brand.

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly and follows repeated efforts to resolve the problems we have been facing. On our advice, they have decided to close altogether and will no longer be providing mental health services as of September 2019.

“We routinely carry out quality checks of our local Minds. We reviewed Mind in West Cumbria in March and found failings in all areas, in addition to which we have had complaints. Our local Minds have to meet certain standards to be part of the Mind family.

“If we don’t feel any of our local Minds are meeting our expectations, we work with them to make improvements. On rare occasions, if a local Mind continues to fall below the standards we set out, or if the relationship between the local Mind and Mind is not working, we have no choice but to disaffiliate.”

A statement issued by Mr Earl on Friday said: “It is with great sadness that we, the trustees, have to announce the closure of Mind in West Cumbria. We are no longer able to operate due to a number of factors including the changing climate for the voluntary sector. This means we are not able to provide services to the standards we’d like with the resource we have available.”

Cath Howard, chief operating officer at Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “We are proactively working with local stakeholders in the area and have launched a mental health fund for West Cumbria, which will focus on providing mental health support services to local residents, and we are hopeful, that with the support of the local community, a way forward can be found to continue much-valued mental health services in Allerdale and Copeland.”

To donate, go to: www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/westcumbriamentalhealth