A patient from an Alzheimers’ ward, which was closed down last year, died two months after being moved to another home, her son said.

Jim Aberdein’s mother was in the late stages of Alzheimer and being cared for at Sutton Hospital’s Malvern Ward for over five years, when Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust (PCT) decided to close it in August as part of a review on how services for older people with mental health needs were delivered.

According to Mr Aberdein, his mother was then transferred to another home, in Guildford, but died a couple of months after the closure of the ward.

He said: “My mother died two months after being moved and I believe other patients died shortly after that.

"She was at a late stage of the disease and wasn’t doing very well, but there’s no way of knowing whether the move accelerated her deterioration.

“A lot of the patients were dying at the time the decision to close was made and during the consultation, until the closure actually happened.”

After the announcement of the closure by the PCT, Mr Aberdein led a campaign against it.

He and other relatives of Malvern Ward patients took to the streets in Sutton to protest and collect signatures for a petition.

But even after a consultation was held by the PCT, they decided patients would be able to receive a better level of care in other homes.

Mr Aberdein said: “The patients were distributed around a range of homes in Sutton and further afield. Moving seems to have exacerbated the mortality.

“When we were campaigning against the closure we came across patients’ relatives saying when you move old people with Alzheimers’ mortality rates go up.”

A spokesman from Sutton and Merton PCT said: “Sadly three people in the terminal stages of dementia have died since the move in September 2008.

“Doctors at the mental health trust have looked into these cases and in their opinion these deaths were not in any way related to the move into more modern accommodation.

“Of the 13 patients that were moved, a clinical review carried out three months after the move, reported nine have shown marked improvements in their general health and wellbeing including mobility, mood and sleep patterns.

“At the request of the PCT, Age Concern independently reviewed the move by asking relatives their views on how patients had settled into their new placements.

"The report was very positive and we are continuing to review and assess all these people’s care and will do so in future.”

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