A JUDICIAL review has been granted into the controversial closure of a mental health hospital last year.

Lawyers acting for service users of York’s Bootham Park Hospital have secured permission to challenge its closure, with the High Court due to hear the case in June or July.

Specialist lawyers at national firm Irwin Mitchell have challenged the actions taken by the Care Quality Commission that led to the decision to close the hospital at short notice.

The closure on October 1 left no in-patient NHS mental health hospital service in the area, with some patients moved as far away as Middlesbrough.

A spokesman for law firm Irwin Mitchell said: “We intend to raise a number of concerns about the way the decision was reached by the CQC and also the impact the closure has had on the safety of patients and the effect in the future if the hospital remains closed.

“There are a number of unanswered questions about how the decision was reached and also the very short period of time between the announcement and the closure of Bootham Park.”