A dermatology ward might only house a small number of beds compared to other sections of a hospital, but to some it is the difference between having the confidence to leave the house or not.

Alexis McGarry has required treatment for psoriasis for more than 20 years with the stress-related skin condition first flaring up when her son was diagnosed with a bilateral Perthes in his hips. Since then both he and Mrs McGarry's daughter have been diagnosed with eczema.

And while her children have never required hospital treatment for their skin, the 61-year-old from Viewpark, North Lanarkshire, faces another fight on her hands with news the only dermatology ward in her area at risk of closing or being reduced.

The Monklands Hospital ward has 11 beds in it for dermatology patients, which has already been reduced from 20, but that could dramatically drop again leaving many who require long term treatment in limbo.

Mrs McGarry told STV News: "I get coal tar treatment which I cannot use in the house because it stains everything so I get that in the hospital. But the smell of it is bad and I have to have my whole body covered in it. And this news about the hospital ward, there was no warning.

"Don't get me wrong they've been talking about it for years if that makes sense but it has still come out of the blue.

"There was one woman who came in, a medical patient, when I was in and she refused point blank to stay in the dermatology ward. So picture us being put into a general ward, and other patients don't know what we have, you're covered from head to toe in coal tar... You feel bad enough but in our own wee ward we're all the same.

"I feel that strong about this ward and I just don't know what we're going to do without it.

"I really don't know what will happen next because they're being very tight lipped about it. They're doing everything all underhand and not letting people know exactly what is happening.

"The nurses are all specialised and they have all been there the same time as I have been attending. We all know each other and the children and grandchildren. The girls are devastated. They know their jobs inside out, when you're going in, if you're depressed and having it does lead to depression because it can get you down.

"Sometimes you can't leave the house for days on end, weeks on end. Mine is chronic, when I take a bad flare-up it gets really bad. And psoriasis can kill you, you know."

Mrs McGarry's case is supported by her local councillor, Steven Bonnar, who also suffers from the condition which plagued his grandfather and his mother.

"I had my first episode when I was a young man at 17 or so. It's a condition called raindrop psoriasis so it was wee drops all over my body and obviously as a young guy at that age you start to get close to girlfriends and whatever else and the stress of that situation used to make it a lot worse for me and break out a lot.

"I couldn't even take my t-shirt off or anything through embarrassment of the condition so I went through my early teens like that, scared to get close to anybody. I did go into the Monklands ward for the coal tar treatment and spent four weeks in there getting covered head to toe in tar and bandaged up. I now just really get it in stress areas like my elbows and my knees.

"You have flare ups; your skin can be great for months but then it can be a subconscious thing because it's a stress-related illness. It's also hereditary so you don't need to feel stressed to go through a bout of it; a lot of it is subconscious. Members of my family suffer from it terribly: my auntie gets it so badly that her ears get so thick with it and they close up with the psoriasis. Sometimes she gets massive patches and she can barely turn in bed."

The McGarry family contacted the Viewpark and Tannockside representative who has in turn gathered more awareness of the move to shut the ward with letters sent to Alex Neil (cabinet secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners' Rights) and Shona Robison (cabinet secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport).

An online petition being shared on social media sites has also gathered more than 2000 signatures.

Mr Bonnar added: "I mentioned it to Airdrie and Shotts councillor David Stocks and it's not normally something I talk about as a skin condition but then it has been brought to the fore and it turns out he is also a sufferer - it just shows how widespread it is. I think it's something like one in three people suffer from a skin condition.

"But that's the only remaining ward that serves a whole lot of people in North Lanarkshire and beyond. There is a dermatology ward in the new Southern General but the chances of people from North Lanarkshire getting admitted there are slim.

"I'm hoping to hear we have more support on board and we can stand against the closure of what is a critical ward for the people who suffer from this condition, or any skin condition.

"We haven't heard of a date specifically but we believe it's a rushed decision and they're looking to close it as early as this summer. That's why we're concerned about the lack of consultation.

"It's not confirmed but if it is then they're trying to rush this through; it's almost as if the decision has already been made by managers and that's it. No consultation with the staff, patients or any officials."

The service only opened in 2012 when Dr. Freida Shaffrali said "Demand for dermatology services increase year-on-year. The new facilities are at the centre of the redesigned dermatology service which sees roughly 16,000 referrals per year."

Numerous requests to NHS Lanarkshire for a statement on the move, Mrs McGarry's concerns and any possible alternatives have been met with the same statement from Judith Park, NHS Lanarkshire director of access.

She said: "We will continue to provide inpatient care for dermatology patients who require it at Monklands Hospital.

"As a result of changes in the way we deliver care and new treatments, the proportion of dermatology patients who need to be admitted to hospital is very low. We have also seen a year-on-year increase in demand for outpatient consultations.

"To reflect this, clinical and managerial staff are working together to redesign our dermatology service."

For those affected the "redesign" is something causing more unwanted stress to a condition which is exacerbated in even the shortest flares to the skin.

Mrs McGarry said: "Ms Park has given the same answer to everyone saying the NHS will provide beds. Where is she going to put us? She has made out that there's less and less need for the beds in the ward but she is contradicting herself at every turn here.

"There is a waiting list and sometimes you have to wait two or three weeks before you get in and by that time your skin is all cracked, you're in a terrible state and they've got to keep you in four weeks to try and get you back to a normal way to live."

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