'Only Connect' ( E.M.Forster. ) Pentreath Industries was a charity set up when St lawrence's mental hospital in Cornwall closed - the manager transferring from St Lawremnce's to provide continuity. A far sighted innovation, to do for those patients in hospital who wanted to do something, and whose illness seen to be better for having a routine in the day and the week: ln doing something outside themselves, on a regular basis. Pentreath carried on with the off-ward activities that were available in hospital for long-stay patients - mainly continuing schizophrenia. Printing, sheltered workshop contracts and assembly, horticulural work, some office assistance, ocupational activities, interest groups: all kept patients to a schedule in their week. It took them off the domestic ward, giving relief to the ward staff caers , who got relief also in that their commitment was in shift. work . Pentreath was to continue and innovate other activities, county wide, for those with long-term illness to engage in, sufficiently locally for access, as they were resettled or moved into continuing care from a home base, scattered now throughout the county, as the mental hospital closed down it's longstay population. In 1996 the overall annual adult mental health budget was about £13,000,000, out of which Pentreath got £300,000. [ 3% ] They received nothing from Local Authority Social Services Mental Illness Specific Grant to sustain these section 117 aftercare provisiomns. In 2007 the overall adult mental health budget is £ 43,000,000, out of which Pentreath Industries gets £400,000 { 1% ] The commissioning contract is now to provide ... " pathways to work for people with mental health problems ". So much for those with a residue of continuing schizophrenia. Their sheltered rehabilitation - to take part in a schedule of regular weekly activites , lost ... The weak never got to the water hole. The consequences of failing to match up funding proportionately, to those with continuing serious illness, and their carers, ensured that Pentreath Industries, once given a national acclaim, could not catch up, dwindled into working with the less needy. The needs were unachieved in 1996 despite the excellent manager seeking supportive funding form outside the NHS - regretfully the funding sought outside the nHs when it was clear nothing significant would come from the Cornwall Primary care Trust would be tied to getting people back into full time competitive work. Pentreath gradually downsized it's activities, lost it's ability to provide rehabilitation activities, county-wide, to help in the continuing caring of those in serious mental illnesses, who needed sheltering activities outside the homebase. It abandoned the struggle for rehabilitation, and settled for moving people back into full-time competitive work. back to Home Page As one local county counsellor on the mental health committee was more bluntly heard to say on the moves into the community " they should never have let the b,,,,,s out"

Some Characteristics of Long Term Clients ... the longterm ill

guided and sheltered aftercare treatment is the unmet need