Dementia sufferers detained under the Mental Health Act for diagnosis have to be taken to hospitals out of the borough, the Chronicle has learned.
It follows the closure of ward four at Kendray Hospital which provided an in-patient assessment and treatment service.
Barnsley Council's personal and family well-being scrutiny commission heard how 30 people had been detained in the last year alone so they can be diagnosed and were taken to hospitals in Dewsbury, Wakefield and Chesterfield.
A spokesman for Barnsley Council, which commissions local services, said keeping the ward open was an "inefficient use of resources" given the level of demand and costs of operation.
He said overall those requiring in-patient treatment had reduced.
See this week's Chronicle for more details.
