There is a mental health demo taking place in York today

A march will take place in York today exactly a year on from the closure of Bootham Park Hospital, demonstrating for the maintenance of mental health services in York.

The ‘Walk back to Bootham’ will commence at the Minster at 6pm today and demonstrators will walk the short distance over to Bootham Park Hospital. Candles will be lit and local MP Rachael Maskell will address the crowd.

The march is being held in support of those affected by the sudden closure of the hospital last year and organisers, Mental Health Action York, are campaigning for the return of inpatient beds at Bootham Park Hospital.

This march comes amid the news that The University York has come last in The Tab’s inaugural 2016 Mental Health Rankings.

York’s ranking is a result of abysmal student satisfaction – just 27 per cent of students who told the university that they had a mental health problem said they had found it had helped them, the second worst in the entire UK. York also scored poorly on four out of the six financial measures, highlighting the previous underinvestment in the counselling service.

An investigation has also been launched into the suicides of five students at the university this year, The Sunday Times reported, a number which is thought to be the highest number ever recorded in a single year at a British university.

A shocking report released earlier in the year by the university revealed that 50% of all ambulance call-outs were due to incidents of self-harm or attempted suicide.

Dr Bob Adams, a former senior psychiatrist at Bootham Park Hospital and a member of Mental Health Action York, said: “It is about time that patients who suffer from mental illness have parity of care with other medical conditions.”

The event will begin at the Minster at 6pm today and is expected to end at about 9pm.