WHEN Leila Platt was diagnosed with severe depression, it was Kentmere that made her feel safe.

Leila, 33, admitted herself to hospital for the first time in April 2015 when she realised that she needed help.

First sent to an elderly ward in Carlisle for a night and then to Barrow for two, a bed then finally became available to the former junior doctor on the Kentmere Ward.

"I believe that without Kentmere Unit, my tale may have been significantly worse," said Leila, from Kendal. "Kendal was the place where the psychiatrist who knew me was able to input into care much more easily than if I were admitted far away. Most importantly, Kendal is where my family are."

Leila describes her initial admission as 'shambolic', and choosing between a bed in Brighton or Carlisle did not help her already vulnerable state.

"I was disorientated," she said. "I felt I really lacked control to what was going on. It was not easy."

However, when she secured a bed at Kentmere, she found herself in a stable environment where recovery became more of a possibility.

"The ward was quite small and it's a lot friendlier than the other wards I've been on," she said. "The staff were really good and approachable.

"So much of getting back in to the community is you have got to be close to where you are going to live."

Since leaving the ward, Leila, has had to return on other occasion to the ward and said that it was almost like 'returning home'.

"Not because I wanted to become settled here," she said. "But because I felt comfortable and understood the way that ward operated."

The decision to close the ward is one that she calls 'shocking' as she does not know 'what would have happened' if it had not been there for her to use.

"We only need to look around our own families and friends to find someone affected, be it currently or historically, by mental health problems," she said. "Kentmere Unit is there for those people. Mental health services are absolutely crucial. When people are unwell, they are vulnerable and they cannot be expected to travel far from their families, friends and familiar surroundings. Local people need a local mental health service."