A protest has been staged as union leaders attempt to protect some of the 800 jobs which are under threat at the former Calderstones Hospital site.
Staff are anxious that NHS England is trying to push through proposals to remove all medical services from the location, near Whalley, after 102 years.
As NHS officials met with management inside, Unison delegates mounted a demonstration at the Mitton Road entrance, receiving support from dozens of passing drivers and colleagues arriving for shifts.
Three options for the restructuring of learning disability services for the North West all propose the loss of Woodview, the medium-secure unit at Whalley.
The alternatives would then see the low-secure unit, Maplewood, either completely scrapped or retaining 40 or 56 beds.
Mandy Gregory, Unison branch secretary, said: “We are a high-performing trust and they are looking to replace us with places which just aren’t as good.”
Lindsay Nuttall, an arts psychologist at the Whalley site, is behind an online campaign, www.whalleyconsultation.org, to counteract claims made by NHS England’s closure exercise.
One of the main disagreements has been over whether low-secure patients should remain at the £7million Maplewood unit, opened by the former Calderstones trust in 2013.
Mrs Nuttall said: “We have a newly-built low secure unit, opened just over three years ago, equipped with a library and art rooms.
“If you had to rebuild that somewhere else then it would be a disgrace and a waste of money.”
Chris Chamley, lead convenor at Whalley, said he feared for the economic impact on the village if the proposals went ahead and was surprised no public meeting had been arranged by the health service.
Glen Harrison, a Unison steward, said union leaders were disappointed the consultation had been launched in December, amid concerns it would be overlooked by the public over the holiday season.
The official consultation will run until February 23.
NHS England was unavailable for comment but has previously defended its approach to the learning disability reorganisation.
Article originally published by Lancashire Telegraph
