A Day in SK8

From my point of view, the site of the Premier Inn at Cheadle is very interesting. The building above (a luxury hotel)  used to be part of the Victorian mental hopsital, Cheadle Royal.  When I was growing up in this area, because of the stigma attached to mental health at the time, people used to talk about Cheadle Royal in hushed tones and dread ending up there.  Now it seems the site is mostly sold off to the private sector, boasting a high end health club, TGI Friday, the Premier and a massive Sainsbury.  Planes soar overhead to Manchester Airport (which they used to call Ringway whilst compalining about it's chandeliers and the cost of the same).   This is all part of Care in the Community.  The only remaining mental hospital is a private one, still called Cheadle Royal.  It's website states  'All services are delivered in partnership with the NHS and structured cost frameworks are provided for commissioners and referring healthcare professionals.'  This is code for 'services are available if you can pay and rationed for NHS patients'.  NHS Care in the Community would be all well and good if it were well resourced but the fact is that it is dumbed down and provided by computers or trainees to groups.  

Next it's off to the lovely cousins following breakfast in Sainsbury.  Three generations aged from 15 months to 70!  What a lovely day.  To Sheffield this evening but this will be the next blog post.