44 Cornish mental patients have been shipped out-of-county following the closing of  one of the two psychiatric facilities in Cornwall. Longreach House, built under the Private Finance Initiative, has been closed since May when it failed a safety inspection. The building is 12 years old. It is not expected to re-open until November. Meanwhile, people requiring in-patient treatment are sent miles from their homes and far from the friends and family who might be able to support them.

It would be unacceptable for cancer or cardiac patients to be treated in this manner. Likewise, mental health services in Cornwall should be funded and provided in parity with medical/surgical services.

The locations of these patients are unknown, but it is likely they are in private psychiatric facilities.