Mental health patients have warned that closing a rehabilitation centre will effectively “remove hope” of recovery for those most in need of help.

More than 300 people have signed an online petition to stop the Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (MCCG) withdrawing funding for Therapeutic House in Gillingham – a centre which offers an alternative to admission to an acute psychiatric ward for women who self-harm, have depression, bipolar disorder and other mental health issues.

Pamela Jackson, from Strood, says the services at Therapeutic House are vital and warned many patients would suffer relapses into their conditions without them.

The 25-year-old mum of two suffers from a personality disorder, which she believes would have led to her children – Olivia, five, and four-month-old Bobby – being taken away if it weren’t for sessions at the centre.

“It’s been really important,” she said. “It’s got me through the end of my pregnancy and got me to where I am today, so I’m able to care for my children fully.

“It’s been amazing. If it weren’t for that place I wouldn’t be able to have my children.”

She said she had no idea what would happen with services, and that the MCCG had not been able to provide suitable answers.

“I think I’ve come too far to have a relapse but there are others I can guarantee will relapse,” she added.

Another patient, Nicole Smith, said the centre’s service – known as the Personality Disorder Crisis Pathway (PDCP) – had proved to be a great success and that neither patients nor staff can understand the decision to withdraw funding.

“I have been attending the service since January and it has enabled me to understand my emotions a lot better, kept me out of hospital on a number of occasions,” she said. “I honestly hate to think where I would be today if this service had not supported me when I was in crisis.”

As well as providing therapy groups during a three-month course, Therapeutic House also has five beds, and women can stay for up to five days.

Another patient, Jane Benians from Twydall, has written to the MCCG to say she had been left “gutted, hurt and exhausted” by the news of the planned closure.

She said the decision would be a cost-cutting exercise that would ultimately backfire and put more pressure on the NHS, writing: “I am not sure of your understanding of Personality Disorders but without appropriate treatment people with PD will never learn to manage their symptoms and will continue to be what’s known as ‘revolving door patients’ in and out of crisis.

“How are you going to cope the huge influx of patients with complex Personality Disorders who will be back in and out of hospital regularly as they can’t get appropriate treatment when the Therapeutic House shuts as without appropriate treatment, recovery is not possible?

“You are taking everything away and our hope of ever getting better.” She added: “The staff try so hard but the system is failing patients because of cutbacks, and this is impacting on staff moral.”

Ms Benians, 40, said her own personality disorder developed following the death of her five-year-old son, nine years ago, and led to her two daughters being taken away from her after she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

But with the help of Therapeutic House, she had finally developed some hope of rebuilding her life.

“It’s been amazing. If it weren’t for that place I wouldn’t be able to have my children” - Pamela Jackson

“They’ve been my lifeline,” she added. “I used to be in and out of hospital regularly self-harming but I’ve been out of hospital for 19 months and medication for 18 months.”

News of the planned closure of Therapeutic House comes nearly two years after Medway Hospital’s mental health unit “A Block” closed.

Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) announced the 35-bed block was to close in 2013 because it was badly outdated, but said it would improve services for users by opening “centres of excellence” at existing wards in Dartford, Maidstone and Canterbury.

But users feared the closure would instead put patients at risk, increase pressure on families and lead to more admissions in A&E – fears which are again being raised now.

Issues around the treatment of patients were raised in July last year, when daughter Amey Evans recorded her mum’s desperate wails as she waited more than nine hours to be seen by a mental health worker in Medway Hospital.

Fiona Ward was recorded crying hysterically, threatening suicide, and biting her wrists, but the 63-year-old waited nine-and-a-half hours to be seen by a psychiatric nurse, and was sent home five hours later.

A spokesman from NHS Medway Clinical Commissioning Group said: “We have worked with the provider, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) to ensure that users of this service are able to access alternative support.

“This includes community outreach that is designed to meet the needs of people with personality disorders and supports their everyday wellbeing to help prevent crisis.

We are already in the process of reviewing all concerns raised across all mental health pathways and will be using patients’ feedback to inform this process.

“This year, Medway Clinical Commissioning Group has invested an additional £890,000 into mental health services to make sure that the people of Medway can access good quality and sustainable services.

“Over the past year we have worked with partners to establish a 24/7 consultant-led liaison psychiatry service at Medway Hospital A&E and invested in primary care mental health workers to improve care for people who are discharged home.

“We have supported the provider to develop a single point of access phone number to make mental health services easier to access.

“We also commission mental health support services in the community such as Wellbeing Cafes which are open at weekends at the Sunlight Centre, Gillingham, and free counselling sessions available under the IAPT scheme.”

A KMPT spokesperson said: “People with personality disorders are a very vulnerable group and Therapeutic House was ground-breaking in its approach.

“The service has been very positively appreciated by those using it. We are keen to understand the CCGs future plans for services for this group and any proposals for alternative models.

“We will work hard with our current service users to support them as best we can through the planned changes”.