MENTAL health provision has been labelled as "on a knife edge" as more patients from Bridport require beds amid proposals to shift services to the east of the county.

Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is currently holding a public consultation into its review of mental health services. As part of the proposals, the CCG wants to close the Linden Unit at Westhaven Hospital in Weymouth and put the 15 beds in the east of Dorset, with four additional inpatient beds at the Forston Clinic near Dorchester.

The Hughes Unit at Bridport Hospital was closed in 2013.

Currently, 224 people are registered at Bridport Medical Centre as seriously mentally ill. The number of nights when a patient from Bridport has required a bed in a mental health unit increased by 43 per cent from 851 in 2014-15 to 1,218 during 2015-16.

Speaking at last week's meeting of Bridport Town Council's environment and social wellbeing committee, Simon Williams, chairman of the Hughes Unit Group Supporters (HUGS), said: "Taking Bridport, Lyme Regis and Beaminster together, the increase is 47 per cent. The increase for Dorchester and central Dorset is 27 per cent.

"Elsewhere in Dorset, excluding the east, there has been a reduction in inpatient bed nights. This means that something is not working as it should, or is there an increasing need in our area?

"We feel that everything is on a knife edge in spite of increased care in the community and excellent ratings given by the Care Quality Commission to impatient care."

Cllr Ros Kayes is also worried about the proposals.

She said: "Losing the Lindon Ward is going to be very significant to us.

"They have not taken into account the public transport problems."

She added: "There's no ambulances available to take these people so that means that people would be in a police cell or in a public place of safety, which clearly is not appropriate for people in the middle of a psychotic episode."

The proposals include introducing three 'community front rooms', which the CCG believes will make it easier for people to get to services in rural parts of the county where transport is poor. Cllr Kayes said they could end up providing a "third rate support network".

The CCG is also proposing to set up two 'retreats', one in Dorchester and the other in either Poole or Bournemouth.

Dr Paul French, clinical lead for mental health and learning disabilities at Dorset CCG, said: “Feedback from people who use local services has told us that they are not meeting their needs. At the same time those working in mental health have been telling us that services are not always supporting people as well as they could, therefore changes need to be made.

"The proposals that are being consulted on were co-produced with patients and carers from across Dorset, including Bridport and Weymouth. They should improve the mental health services across Dorset, and people living in and around Dorset will see improvements in services for themselves, their friends and families."

People have until Friday, March 31 to have their say at dorsetsvision.nhs.uk