Cardinal Clinic therapists felt 'left in the dark' over hospital closure

Former clinicians at the Cardinal Clinic have decried the ‘poor’ handling of its closure and a lack of transparency they believe left them far more out of pocket than was justified.

The 48-year-old mental health hospital in Oakley Green Road went into administration at the end of January, citing long-running financial problems.

Its website now reports that it is ‘temporarily closed’ while works is ongoing with PROMIS Clinics and PBH to start a service there ‘in a few weeks.’

Speaking to the Advertiser, former therapists, consultants and other suppliers expressed their concerns about how things had panned out.

Cathy Cole was providing flower arrangement therapy at Cardinal Clinic, sending monthly invoices to it for her services.

As someone external to the organisation, she has been left thousands of pounds out of pocket.

When a business goes into administration, suppliers like Cathy become unsecured creditors, meaning they might not get the money owed to them.

Understanding this, Cathy, and two other people in the same situation who contacted the Advertiser, still feel that some of the damage could have been avoided.

Cathy said that for some months prior to the closure of the clinic, staff were ‘very unhappy’ because they had a sense that things were ‘going downhill’ but did not know what was going on.

There were ‘whispers and uncertainties’ she said, and staff were ‘left in the dark.’

This was in stark contrast to how the family-run clinic used to be, she added – ‘friendly, beautifully run, and kept you informed.’

Cathy and the Advertiser’s other sources feel as though the clinic was not honest with them.

Knowing its financial situation, different decisions could have been made, they think.

Suppliers continued to come into work, under the impression the clinic would be able to pay them for their time. They spent thousands on costs related to their service, she said.

“Not one of them [management] said: ‘We’re in a bit of trouble, don’t come in next month,’” Cathy said. “[Instead,] they let me carry on.”

She believes she could have saved about three thousand pounds if she had known the Cardinal’s true financial situation just a couple of months earlier, in September.

“It was a mess. To be all of a sudden [out of pocket] by £4,500 was a great shock,” she said.

Several people told the Advertiser that the culture at the Cardinal was once excellent and inspired tremendous loyalty in those who had been working there for years – some for decades – but that reputation has been marred by what happened.

“To be treated like that was appalling. It was like you were nothing,” said Cathy. “It was done so poorly and it didn't need to be.

“If they’d told us, I think a lot of people would have still gone in and helped in a different way. I don’t think anyone would have walked away just because they didn't have money.”

Other suppliers told the Advertiser of ‘visible declines’ at the clinic in the months running up to its closure – and reiterated a lack of ‘any real communication’ from management, as well as ‘no empathy’ for their situation.

They spoke of facing a ‘bleak Christmas’ and struggling with mortgage payments, having lost a significant part of their income.

Had they known the situation, they would have had more time to find another much-needed revenue stream, they said.

“I feel like I was misled from the beginning. We were all misled,” said one supplier, who wishes to remain anonymous.

Stuart Grimwood, managing director at the Cardinal Clinic, said the situation that precipitated the decision to close was ‘sudden and unforeseeable’.

“We recognise that there were some suppliers, including self-employed clinicians, who were left out of pocket by the closure of the business. We deeply regret this,” he said.

“We communicated regularly with staff, clinicians and patients during this period. However, inevitably this was a dynamic situation and communication may not always have kept up with changes as quickly as we would have liked.

“We were also bound by confidentiality issues, in some instances, that prevented full disclosure.”