A demonstration against the planned closure of the dedicated mental health ward in Wells has been described by organisers as very successful as more than 100 signatures were added on to the protest petition.

Campaigners recently brought the protest to Boyles Cross in Frome, with those stopping to listening to group speakers including John Dunn who spoke passionately about the impact of the ward closure on other NHS services and Dave Chapple of Mendip TUC.

The protest, organised by Billiy Almond and Emma King as part of the Save Somerset's Community Services action group, was the eighth in a series of protests for all the areas the St Andrew's Ward serves including Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and Wells.

Emma said: "After we finished the speeches, we held a piece of street drama called Catch Me When I Fall, to demonstrate the complexity of the navigation of the mental health system by someone in crisis and how the removal of services, such as St Andrew's Ward, can result in a vulnerable person 'falling' as there is no one there to 'catch' them when they are most in need.

"A shortage of mental health beds, which is likely if we only maintain the current number, could result in people being left without the care they need.

"We know that, even though the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group claim they are 'moving away from bed-based interventions', these are obviously vital for people who need them and there is a growing population in Mendip as well as the aftermath of the pandemic increasing mental health need."

If you would like to sign the petition, you can visit the Change.org site here.

The next demonstration will be in Wells, provisionally on Friday November 12. It will involve a protest on the Strawberry Way Roundabout during rush hour (8.30am to 9am) and the Catch Me When I Fall action.

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