Write to your MP and ask them to sign the Early Day Motion

I can't stress how important the EDM is, we need as many people to support this action as possible. Show your continued support for The Henderson by urging your MP to sign the motion below. Write to your MP, email them, meet them, phone them or squeeze them by the testicals, if you have to but GET them to sign.

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=35817&SESSION=891


So far, there have been (Editing MP Count) 45 MP sign the EDM but there needs to be more, from all parties. If you look at the site, you can see that MP’s from all parties have added their names. So don’t be afraid to write to Labour MP’s because some have already shown their support.
Also remember one thing with all MP’s, they work for you and should support their communities before their own parties, that’s what they’re paid for…


Please feel free to include the draft letter below when writing, the info is second to none and very informative.



Henderson Hospital, Sutton, Surrey
I am writing to ask for your help to prevent the
closure of a specialist national mental health
hospital. Henderson Hospital offers unique residential
treatment with up to one year’s intensive therapy for
severe psychological disorders. As a national service
it receives referrals from all over the UK.

Originally Henderson was set up post World War II to
help soldiers traumatised by their experiences of war.
Today Henderson still caters for this need and has
evolved further: its client group falls under the
category of complex personality disorder which is an
umbrella term for those who are unable to sustain
healthy relationships, self harm, have eating
disorders, suicidal intent, misuse alcohol and drugs,
and can be violent to themselves and others or
involved in crime. These dysfunctional behaviours
mainly occur as a result of trauma, childhood abuse or
neglect.

The effectiveness of Henderson is strongly evidence
based and Henderson now has 60 years history of
research and expertise in treating moderate and severe
personality disorder; it is also a leading national
training resource in this field. Therapeutic
communities in the UK have been based on the Henderson
model including forensic units such as Grendon
Underwood and internationally, the Ashburn Clinic in
New Zealand, also therapeutic communities in Holland,
Prague and Brazil. Interestingly, the therapeutic
community model is becoming more prolific as a
preferred treatment for offenders. Also many drug and
alcohol treatments follow the residential therapeutic
community model. In the late 1990’s Henderson received
funding from the National Specialist Commissioning
Advisory Group on the proviso that it successfully
created two other Henderson replicas, Main House in
Birmingham and Webb House in Crewe. This was achieved.
Sadly Webb House has closed as a result of flaws in
commissioning and Main House is also under threat.

The Henderson provides intensive group psychotherapy,
socio-therapy, psychodrama, art therapy. Uniquely,
Henderson is fully democratic and residents take
responsibility for running the community and
supporting their peers, residents are not prescribed
psychiatric medication as the aim is to work through
the underlying issues causing their problems.
Henderson has many rules and regulations which provide
a safety net, and provide residents with a strong
sense of responsibility and consequence. Henderson
also offers pre and post admission outreach and
support for carers.

For people with severe personality disorders
traditional psychiatric services are most often
unsuccessful. Traditional psychiatric services tend to
provide care and risk management rather than treatment
of personality disorder. Many who are referred to
Henderson have already exhausted psychiatric and
probation services. Those who engage with Henderson
are in the future less dependent on psychiatric and
judicial services and the cost of treatment at
Henderson is recouped.

New local services for Personality Disorder are not
always containing enough and residential treatment is
needed for those with complex needs, who can in turn
disrupt the care of others in these local services.

The current situation of closure has come about
following the devolvement of funding from the National
Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group to local
primary care trusts last year. The transfer of funds
led to a decrease in referrals and there is an
incongruity between need and provision of treatment as
a result of the gap in commissioning between national
and local funding. A public consultation about the
closure of Henderson and tier 4 service for severe
personality disorder will be running from September
this year and this will be the largest public
consultation in the UK involving 62 Primary Care
Trusts, this is being led by Jo Scott.

I am very concerned that the closure of Henderson
contravenes Government policy. Closure of Henderson
would exclude complex cases of personality disorder
from the most appropriate treatment; this is against
the guidance of the National Institute of Mental
Health (England) (NIMHE publication “Personality
Disorder: no longer a diagnosis of exclusion, Policy
implementation guidance for the development of
services for people with personality disorder”
(2003)).

In 2006 The Carter Review was requested by the
Department of Health to explore the commissioning
arrangements of specialised health care services. This
review was incorporated into government policy in the
Health Reforms for England (2006). The recommendations
are clear; the responsibility for the commissioning of
specialised services should not be left to local PCTs
but should be funded via specialist commissioning
groups at either a National or Regional level.
Henderson is a national service but its application
for national commissioning was rejected as there are
too many people who fit the criteria for severe
personality disorder for the service to meet national
commissioning rules. However the National Specialist
Commissioning Group will be looking at the needs of
people with severe personality disorder and how these
needs can be met by services as a matter of urgency.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health supports a merger
between Henderson and another hospital for personality
disorder, The Cassel, Ham, Richmond to run on The
Cassel site. However I have concerns about this option
as it would decrease the capacity for residential
treatment in the UK, and would not secure the future
of the other remaining residential therapeutic
communities ie Main House in Birmingham which is based
on Henderson model. A merger would also reduce
provision for the low end of forensic work and for
anti-social personality disorder cases as The Cassel
does not treat this client group. The Cassel and
Henderson are very different models, and the worry is
that a merger could result in a compromise of the
Henderson’s democratic, user led service based around
group work.

Personal testimony …(optional short paragraph on
personal experience) ie,
egBefore and after
Treatments that didn’t work

As my MP please could you take the following action:
1. Sign EDM 1547 “Henderson Democratic Therapeutic
Community Model for the Treatment of Personality
Disorder”
2. Write to Ivan Lewis, Health Minister, to ask:
a. For clarification of whether he supports the
Henderson model in principle
b. For his acknowledgement of the validity of
Henderson’s research bearing in mind that it is
recognised that for many health treatments Randomised
Controlled Trials are not ethically or clinically
appropriate, Henderson has alternative research.
c. If he could commission a project to confirm the
validity research available relating directly to
Henderson.
d. To remind him that in the adjournment debate with
Paul Burstow and Tom Brake MP on 16th January 2008 he
agreed specialist services should not be left to local
health services but should be regionally funded.
e. NB many MPs are receiving standard responses saying
the Minister will not comment due to the public
consultation, however I feel he still has a
responsibility to respond.
3. Write to Jo Scott Associate Director of Specialist
Mental. Health & Secure Services, South East Coast
Specialist, Commissioning Group West Sussex PCT, 1 The
Causeway, Goring-on-Sea, Worthing, BN12 6BT, to set
out my concerns about the closure of Henderson, the
need for a model of treatment like Henderson, and also
my concerns about the Henderson/Cassel merger option.
4. Please could you also write to Peter Houghton,
Chief Executive of South West London and St George’s
Mental Health Trust, Springfield University Hospital
61 Glenburnie Road, London SW17 7DJ to ask him to
support and promote Henderson during the public
consultation and copy this letter to Marion Woodard,
Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Manager at London Borough of Sutton Council, Civic
office, St Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1EA.
5. Write to the Chief Executive of our local primary
care trust as a commissioner of services for severe
personality disorder to encourage them to be part of
this national public consultation.

Paul Burstow and Tom Brake MP will be arranging
another lobby day and I hope you will be able to
attend this event; I will let you know the details as
soon as it is arranged.

Finally, please can you keep me fully updates on the
action you have taken on my behalf?

Thank you.