A FORMER chaplain has blasted as “wanton destruction” the dismantling of the chapel he helped establish in a Poole mental hospital.

The Rev Stewart Timbrell is angry that the place of worship in St Ann’s Hospital, Canford Cliffs, is to be replaced by a “multi-faith space” during building work.

Mr Timbrell, who retired three years ago after 30 years as a full-time mental health chaplain, said: “With mental illness, people are very conscious of empty space within themselves.

“To put in another empty space devoid of any vestige of Christianity is outrageous. I thought this was a Christian country.”

He added that he had raised the initial £3,000 to create the chapel, which also had a £3,000 Purbeck marble altar, Carrara marble angels, a £5,600 organ and valuable stained glass windows.

“The patients loved it. I raised all this money to show them that spirituality matters,” he said.

“The trust is spending thousands on a gym to get them physically fit, but the spiritual side of things is so much more important.

“The chapel has been a place of joy and laughter, and you don’t get much laughter in a mental hospital. Everybody is welcomed.”

Dorset HealthCare Trust is updating to inpatient facilities at the hospital through a mixture of refurbishment and new buildings.

The Rev Michael Oates, co-ordinating chaplain for the trust, explained: “There will be a multi-faith, spiritual space to meet the needs of our multicultural service users.

“We will retain the well-attended Sunday services as well as encourage opportunities for Christian worship and chaplaincy every day of the week.

“The much-loved donations that currently furnish the chapel will not be destroyed but retained until a suitable and appropriate setting can be found for their use. In fact the hospital has already been working with Poole Hospital to secure an appropriate setting for one of the major furnishings.

“We believe that the future provision for service users at St Ann’s to practice their individual beliefs will be appropriate.

“This has been welcomed by my chaplaincy team and in response to feedback the service users will be retaining an uninterrupted pattern of regular Christian Sunday worship within the hospital.”