High Court Will Hear Challenge To Closure Of Mental Health Hospital

Lawyers acting for service users of Bootham Park mental health hospital have been granted permission to challenge the closure of the facility, with the High Court set to hear the judicial review case in June or July 2016.

Specialist lawyers at national law firm Irwin Mitchell have raised a challenge to the actions taken by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that resulted in the decision to close the York-based NHS hospital.

The mental health hospital was closed on 1 October 2015 at short notice leaving no inpatient NHS mental health hospital service in the area.

Yogi Amin, Head of the Public Law team at Irwin Mitchell representing the service users, said:

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"We have been instructed to challenge the closure of Bootham Park by a number of former service users and we have now been granted permission to proceed to a full judicial review. The case will be heard in the High Court and the duties of the Care Quality Commission will be placed into sharp focus. The other NHS bodies have given an account of their actions in respect of Bootham Hospital and that will also be consider as part of the case.

“We intend to raise a number of concerns about the way the decision was reached by the CQC and also the impact the closure has had on the safety of patients and the effect in the future if the hospital remains closed.

“There are a number of unanswered questions about how the decision was a reached and also the very short period of time between the announcement and the closure of Bootham Park. Unfortunately, the closure of the hospital has forced many patients to travel a significant distance to access the support and treatment they require. Information about the impact on patients, including the ongoing impact now, will be relevant for me to consider as part of the evidence in this case.” Yogi Amin - Partner and National Head of Public Law and Human Rights