People with mental ill health are not only being denied emergency care (Oxford Mail, March 29), but have difficulty in accessing the appropriate care in the community they need.

This, I believe, is due to the millions of pounds cut from the budget of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust by Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust.

People naively believe that care in the community means that the mentally ill are adequately cared for in their homes.

This is not necessarily true, as patients are routinely discharged from community mental health teams without alternative provision put in place.

Mental health services have always been underfunded, and the cuts imposed last year have put the system in Oxfordshire under strain.

As the mental health trust strives for greater efficiency, the losers are the patients whose quality of life is diminished, and who often find themselves in a dangerous crisis without support.

I can testify to the difficulty in accessing care when in a crisis, and also the precariousness of waiting with little support for a hospital bed.

Like many other people, I do not have a carer and have to cope alone.

Mental health must be a priority, both nationally and locally, and be properly resourced.

What hope of recovery is there if services are so pared down that they cannot be effective in treating those who so desperately need them?

Indeed, what hope is there if services are not available to those in need?

Wendy Edwards, Southfield Park, Oxford