Hello from nosy busybody!

Hello everyone.

I am not an ex-resident of the Henderson Hospital, however, I have received talking therapies from the nearby Sutton Community Drug Team.

I discovered the existence of the Henderson Hospital as a result of briefly looking into the history of the whole Sutton Hospital / Royal Marsden Hospital / Highdown Prison / Downview Prison / Shanklin Village / Belmont Station area, and to try to find out to what extent these developments were all linked, given that they all exist in close proximity in an area which, apart from Banstead Downs, is otherwise surrounded mostly by fairly typical suburban detached and semi-detached housing.

After discovering the existence of the Henderson, I've been struck by the written testimonies of people who've been through it! Yes, I was envious for a little while, but I'm over that one now, and have now come round to thinking that what the Henderson does is a good thing, which should be saved, so that it can be made available to more patients in the future.

I'm a great believer in community therapy - or, should I say, therapeutic communities - it's not quite the same thing! Doctors have tried to fob me off with the usual zombifying drugs too, and it's still happening to a good few friends and relatives of mine. And I'm aware that there are very few other facilities like Henderson Hospital around. So I don't want to see it closed any more than anyone else.

I realise that the government thinks that the decision about Henderson Hospital needs to be taken on a local level. However, the very uniqueness of the Henderson Hospital means that, in my opinion, the decision to close it is of national, perhaps even international significance. And it will continue to hold this significance until a few more therapeutic community hospitals get opened.