Sir, It is very disappointing that Patricia Hewitt has refused to come to the help of the cash-strapped NHS in Oxfordshire. For all concerned, the future looks grim, but particularly for the mentally ill who are facing savage cuts to services. We are told that difficult decisions need to be made', but with the Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare NHS Trust needing to make savings amounting to around ten per cent of its patient care budget, these difficult decisions' are going to have a serious impact on the lives of many people who struggle with a mental illness.

A number of services are facing the axe, some without public consultation. Already, since the autumn, The Hub, a valued occupational therapy centre, has gone. Also, the Resource Centre at Littlemore Hospital and Neil Ward at The Warneford Hospital have closed. There is to be public consultation on some of the proposed cuts, but my experience of such exercises is that they are little more than a charade. What is the point of consultation when the outcome is already decided? A double blow is the cut to the Supporting People Budget, which will amount to savings of around 15 per cent for services that support those with a diagnosis of mental illness in the community. As more people are off-loaded into the community, there will be less support for very vulnerable people who are trying to live more independently.

It is heartening that all of Oxfordshire's MPs have joined forces to lobby for help from the Government. The mentally ill are amongst the most vulnerable in our society who usually find it difficult to speak out about the standard and paucity of their care, and any help from articulate people on their behalf is very welcome.

This group of people have historically always got a raw deal and the news of these cuts has galvanised some to start campaigning for more investment in mental health and not less.

The Government keeps telling us that mental health is no longer the Cinderella of the NHS, but this is very clearly not the case. Mental health care in the 21st century still has a very long way to go. It needs to be going forwards, not backwards.

Wendy Edwards, Oxford