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Mental health patients face 'unacceptable' waits for emergency care

Patients seeking treatment for mental health problems at hospital emergency departments in England were twice as likely to experience "unacceptable" waiting times of 12 hours or more than other patients, according to a service review.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) described its findings as "unacceptable" and said the system frequently failed who were most unwell and vulnerable, particularly children and young people.

The report, Mental Health and Emergency Care, is the latest in the RCEM's acute insight series summarising important issues in emergency care and making recommendations for policymakers, NHS England, integrated care systems, and trusts.

The analysis noted that recorded prevalence of patients experiencing mental health needs had "dramatically increased" over the last 5 years. Despite accounting for a small proportion of attendances to emergency departments (EDs), a "mismatch" between capacity and demand, cuts to dedicated mental health hospital beds, and poor patient flow through the hospital system had led to long waits in recent months.

The greatest concern was for patients waiting for a mental health bed, those waiting for assessment under the Mental Health Act, and children and young people presenting in crisis, the RCEM said. 

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Source: Medscape, 22 September 2022

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Mental health patients at risk of sexual assault on mixed sex wards, watchdog warns

Vulnerable female patients have been sexually “exposed” on a mixed gender ward deemed not “fit for purpose”, the NHS watchdog has warned.

The Care Quality Commission found that sexual incidents had occured at Hill Crest, a 25-bed mixed gender mental health unit in Redditch, as male and female were being put at risk.

It found male patients are able to walk into female bathrooms and bedrooms, leading to risks of sexual assault and relationships. It found that sexual incidents had taken on the unit because of the risks.

The rate of assaults on mixed sex wards is significantly higher than on single-sex wards, data has shown.

According to the CQC, the trust graded sexual incidents between patients as “low harm” but did not fully consider them or follow up actions to keep patients safe.

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Source: The Independent, 8 February 2023

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Mental health patients ‘raped and sexually assaulted’ as NHS abuse scandal revealed

Tens of thousands of sexual assaults and incidents have been reported in NHS-run mental health hospitals as a “national scandal” of sexual abuse of patients on psychiatric wards can be revealed.

Almost 20,000 reports of sexual incidents in the last five years have been made in more than half of NHS mental health trusts, according to exclusive data uncovered in a joint investigation and podcast by The Independent and Sky News.

The shocking findings, triggered by one woman’s dramatic story of escape following a sexual assault in hospital revealed in a podcast, Patient 11, show NHS trusts are failing to report the majority of incidents to the police and are not meeting vital standards designed to protect the UK’s most vulnerable patients from sexual harm.

Throughout the 18-month investigation, multiple patients and their families spoke to The Independent about their stories of sexual assault and abuse while locked in mental health units.

Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, called the findings “horrendous”, while shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said it was a “wake-up call” for the government.

Dr Smith told The Independent: “There is no place for sexual violence in society, which has a profound and long-lasting negative impact on people’s lives. Today’s horrendous findings show that there is still much to do to make sure that patients and staff in mental health trusts are protected from sexual harms at all times.

“It is deeply troubling to see that so many incidents in mental health settings go unreported.”

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Source: The Independent, 29 January 2024

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Mental health of young adults severely impacted by pandemic

A new study has found that the pandemic has severely affected people’s mental health and relationships all over the world, particularly for young adults.

The third annual mental state of the world report (MSW) commissioned by Sapien Labs, a non-profit research organisation, conducted a global survey to better understand the state of mental health.

The research compiled responses from over 400,000 participants across 64 countries, asking respondents about their family relationships, friendships and overall mental wellbeing.

The survey found that there has been little recovery in declining mental health during the pandemic, which the group measures by a score called “mental health quotient”. It had found that average score had declined by 33 points – on a 300-point scale – over the past two years and still showed no signs of recovery, remaining at the same level as 2021.

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Source: The Guardian, 1 March 2023

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Mental health nurses on 999 calls reduce ED admissions

A new pilot project that sees mental health nurses speaking on 999 calls has seen a 40% reduction in the number of people in mental health crisis being admitted to emergency departments (EDs).

The project in the South Eastern Health Trust area, funded by the Public Health Agency (PHA), sees 12 mental health practitioners from the trust work with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) in its control room in Belfast at the weekends.

It is aimed at people who call 999 in mental health distress.

In the scheme, a medical health practitioner will give a mental health assessment to de-escalate people from attending EDs, and prevent ambulances from going to people that are in mental health crisis.

The trust's project lead, Stephanie Patten, said the pilot has been proving successful so far.

"From April to September, there were 190 [mental health] calls," she told BBC News NI.

"40% of those calls were de-escalated which meant they did not require an emergency ambulance."

Ms Patten said this means people "have the right care and the right response at the right time" when they are in crisis, and don't have to wait on an ambulance or in a busy ED.

"An emergency department is not an appropriate place for someone who is depressed, anxious or distressed to be sitting waiting," she added.

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Source: BBC News, 20 November 2024

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Mental Health Matters: What the staff survey said about quality and safety

With the annual NHS Staff Survey recently published, expectation was that this year might look a little different, all things considered.

For the mental health sector, the dial didn’t move massively on key questions. The sector still came out bottom for staff who agreed they’d be happy with the standard of care if a friend or family member needed it - otherwise called the “family and friends test”.

Although the survey was not that revelatory this year, it is still a helpful barometer for trusts’ safety and quality culture.

Sheffield Health and Social Care Foundation Trust comes out lowest on all of the main quality and safety-related questions. 

On the crucial family and friends question, just 47% of the trust’s staff agreed that would be happy with the standard of care. The trust has been one of the worst performers on the survey for a number of years but appears to have deteriorated further.

Sheffield Health and Social Care FT also came out worst on the following key safety culture related questions:

  • When errors, near misses or incidents are reported, my organisation takes action to ensure that they do not happen again
  • I would feel secure raising concerns about unsafe clinical practice
  • My organisation acts on concerns raised by patients/service users.

The last two questions are a vital indicator of a trust’s approach to safety and quality. If staff do not feel secure to raise concerns, or if a trust does not act on patient concerns can it really address problems before they escalate?

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Source: HSJ, 12 March 2021

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Mental health leave for paramedics in England nearly triples since 2011

The number of paramedics taking time off with mental health conditions has almost tripled over the last decade, a Guardian analysis has found.

In 2019, paramedics took 52,040 days off due to anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses, up from 18,184 in 2011 – an increase of 186%.

While the overall number of paramedics has increased slightly over the period, the rate of mental health leave has increased more, resulting in the average number of days taken off per paramedic in a year rising from 2.8 to 5.8.

Unison’s head of health, Sara Gorton, said: “Crisis-level staffing has increasingly become the norm within the NHS in recent years, even before the pandemic. Working long hours without breaks, in demanding conditions, it’s no wonder it’s taken a toll on the mental health of workers across the health service. And the coronavirus challenges have piled on more pressure.”

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Source: The Guardian, 23 July 2020

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Mental health inquiry chair vows to 'seek out' truth

The chair of England's first public inquiry into mental health deaths vowed to "seek out the truth" - despite difficulties getting documents from the NHS.

The first key evidence sessions in the Lampard Inquiry - examining more than 2,000 deaths at NHS inpatient units in Essex between 2000 and 2023 - have begun in London.

Baroness Lampard said although the hearing was "breaking new ground", 21 legal notices had been issued to NHS organisations to force them to submit evidence.

"We will seek out the truth," she said, adding she would not hesitate to use her legal powers "to the fullest extent necessary to compel the production of evidence where it's not provided".

Counsel to the inquiry, Nicholas Griffin KC, said: "We have been unimpressed with a significant number of requests for deadline extensions... and the number of occasions where providers have not given the material expressly asked for."

He said there were problems with the condition of paper records, "missing documents" and providers, including private ones, sending information late.

Mr Griffin said it was a criminal offence to suppress, conceal, alter, or destroy relevant evidence and said providers should be properly resourced to respond to the inquiry.

He said the inquiry should not be delayed because of it.

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Source: BBC News, 28 April 2025

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Mental health in the Punjabi community: 'I see stigma everywhere'

Seeking help for mental health is never easy but for some members of London's Punjabi community, the shame and stigma associated means they have struggled more than most.

Anyone having "problems of the mind" is often considered a burden upon the family says Dr Rakish Rana, founder of the Clear Coach, who added that a lack of education on mental health means it is considered a taboo subject.

"To support those with mental health issues, there needs to be more awareness in the South Asian community, whether that's through religious or community leaders, schools and families," he said.

"As with all cases of mental health, it needs to be openly discussed and normalised."

Shuranjeet Singh, the founder of Taraki, a not-for-profit mental health organisation, said its research carried out into the Punjabi community found more than half of respondents reported a decline in their mental health as a result of Covid-19.

"I can see stigma slowly reducing and I hope that community-focused solutions are well researched and funded, because no community is truly 'hard to reach'."

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Source: BBC News, 3 October 2020

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Mental health hotline for NHS staff

The NHS is launching a hotline to support and advise healthcare staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

Volunteers from charities including Hospice UK, the Samaritans and Shout, will listen to concerns and offer psychological support.

The phone line will be open between 07:00 and 23:00 every day, while the text service will be available around the clock.

The phone number is 0300 131 7000 or staff can text FRONTLINE to 85258.

It comes as staff face increasing pressure to care for rising numbers of patients who are seriously ill with the virus.

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Source: BBC News, 8 April 2020

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Mental health hospital under investigation for abuse says it's taking 'urgent action'

Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust said a number of staff at its Edenfield Centre had been suspended after an undercover investigation found what was described as a "toxic culture" of humiliation, verbal abuse, and bullying of patients.

BBC Panorama reporter, Alan Haslam, spent 3 months as a support worker at the Centre in Prestwich. Wearing a hidden camera, he said he observed staff swearing at patients, mocking them, and falsifying observation records.

A consultant psychiatrist, Dr Cleo Van Velsen, who was asked by the BBC to review its footage, said it showed a "toxic culture" among staff at the Centre with "corruption, perversion, aggression, hostility, [and a] lack of boundaries".

Dr Van Velsen told the BBC that staff members at the Edenfield Centre acted "like a gang, not a group of healthcare professionals".

Patients at the Centre told the undercover reporter that they felt "bullied and dehumanised".

Greater Manchester Police said it was working with the Crown Prosecution Service with a view to prosecuting anyone who had committed a crime. 

In a statement, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust said: "We are taking the allegations raised by Panorama very seriously since the BBC sent them to us earlier this month. We have put in place immediate actions to protect patient safety, which is our utmost priority.

"Since then, senior doctors at the Trust have undertaken clinical reviews of the patients affected, we have suspended a number of staff pending further investigations, and we have also commissioned an independent clinical review of the services provided at the Edenfield Centre. "

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Source: Medscape. 29 September 2022

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Mental health hospital paid millions by NHS facing police probe after patient death

A mental health charity that receives £206m a year to care for NHS patients is facing two police probes after the death of a patient and alleged assault of another, The Independent can reveal.

The privately run St Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, which provides more than 400 inpatient beds for patients with brain injuries and mental health conditions such as eating disorders and psychosis, was investigated for alleged corporate manslaughter after a man died there in February 2025. Five people were arrested, but four have since been released with no further action. One person remains on bail for alleged wilful neglect by a care worker.

In a separate police probe, eight care workers have been arrested on suspicion of wilful neglect and ill treatment following allegations of assault made on a patient in July 2025.

The latest investigations come after another corporate manslaughter inquiry, following the death of a teenage girl at the hospital in October 2024, which led to one person being arrested.

Northampton Police said the Crown Prosecution Service had since decided no further action would be taken in that case, and the person arrested had been released with no further action. A report on the incident will be prepared for the coroner ahead of an inquest.

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Source: The Independent, 30 January 2026

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Mental health hospital in Suffolk closed after 'unacceptable' care

A mental health hospital in Suffolk has been closed after inspectors found it was failing to protect patients from harm and abuse.

St John's House in Palgrave, near Diss, was previously rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A further inspection of the 49-bed hospital found the care was "unacceptable" and "insufficient progress had been made regarding patient safety".

The company that runs the hospital, Partnerships in Care, part of the Priory Group, has now decided to close the site.

Stuart Dunn, CQC head of inspection for mental health and community services, said: "Our latest inspection of St John's House found an unacceptable service where insufficient improvements had been made to protect patients from harm and abuse and the number of safety incidents remained high."

"Staff weren't responding appropriately to patients who were self-harming, with one patient not being sent to hospital quickly enough after swallowing a foreign object, despite complaining of abdominal pain.

"We reviewed CCTV footage and found staff were sometimes asleep when they should have been observing patients to make sure they were safe. This was all the more concerning as we identified this as a concern during the previous two inspections of this service, demonstrating a lack of improvement to keep patients safe.

"Incidents of restraint remained high and not all staff had the right training to carry it out safely. In addition, staff were not following hospital policy when using soft handcuffs with patients during safety incidents."

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Source: ITV News, 17 September 2021

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Mental health help for under-fives overlooked - report

More support is needed to prevent babies and young children developing mental health problems in later life, leading doctors say.

Their report shows there is growing evidence that intervening very early on - from conception to the age of five - may help stop conditions arising or worsening. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling for more specialist services. The government says the mental health of children and parents is paramount.

Officials say they are investing more in expanding NHS services, alongside funding programmes designed to support children and caregivers.

NHS data shows about 5% of two to four-year-olds struggle with anxiety, behavioural disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists' report suggests half of mental health conditions arise by the age of 14, and many start to develop in the first years of life, making early action "vital".

Dr Trudi Seneviratne, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), said the majority of under-fives with mental health conditions were not receiving the level of support needed "to help them become productive, functioning adults and reach their full potential. The period from conception to five is essential in securing the healthy development of children into adulthood. Unfortunately, these years are often not given the importance they should be, and many people are unaware of what signs they should be looking out for. Parents, carers and society as a whole have a critical role to play. This includes securing positive relationships and a nurturing environment that supports the building blocks of a child's social, emotional and cognitive development."

Read the RCPsych report Infant and early childhood mental health: the case for action

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Source: BBC News, 21 October 2023

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Mental health crisis referrals leap by almost 75%

Referrals to mental health crisis services in England have increased by almost 75% ‘post-pandemic’, senior NHS leaders have revealed.

Documents submitted to NHS England and Improvement’s November board meeting capture the scale of demand facing the sector, which national director Claire Murdoch described to fellow leaders as “huge”.

Bed occupancy rates in adult acute services have remained above the recommended ‘safe’ level of 85% since June 2020, performance reports suggest.

Above that threshold, experts warn that patient safety, out of area placements, and surge demand risks are likely to increase.

Ms Murdoch wrote in her report to the board that between 180,000 and 200,000 calls per month were being fielded by covid-19 response crisis lines in the first quarter of 2021-22 — more than 6,000 each day.

She added that there had been a 74% increase in referrals to crisis services ‘post-pandemic’: ”We’re now seeing huge demand and we’re back to pre-covid levels.” She said some people had not sought help during pandemic peak periods and this was leading to more severe demand."

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Source: HSJ, 25 November 2021

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Mental health complainants fear reprisals

Mental health patients subjected to abuse on wards do not formally complain as they "do not want to expose themselves to any risk of revenge" from staff, academics say.

A study by Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, and the University of Hertfordshire, involving 21 patients and two carers, uncovered more than 750 incidents of violence and coercion by staff, few of which were reported.

The researchers suggested social workers should be present on wards, with staff also required to wear body cameras to protect patients.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said staff committing acts of violence should be removed and prosecuted.

Claims of violence and coercion allegedly committed by staff included patients being physically restrained, verbally abused, being moved with force and being deliberately ignored.

Eight patients told researchers that one or two staff were responsible for abuse against them, while 18 said acts were witnessed by other patients or staff.

Only four official complaints were made, according to researchers, with just one upheld.

Mr Munt said: "The preoccupation for many patients is that they do not want to expose themselves to any risk of revenge."

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Source: BBC News, 6 March 2025

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Mental health charity slams Government's ‘irresponsible’ coronavirus bill

A mental health charity has branded as “irresponsible” the Government’s coronavirus bill which would grant single doctors the power to detain the mentally ill.

The Government wants to relax legal safeguards in the Mental Health Act in order to free up medical staff to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. If passed, the bill would reduce the number of doctors needed to approve detaining individuals from the current minimum of two, to just one.

In addition, it would temporarily allow time limits in the Mental Health Act to be extended or removed altogether. This would mean patients currently detained in mental health facilities could be released into the community early, or be detained for longer.

Akiko Hart, Chief of National Survivor User Network (NSUN), a UK mental health charity, said: “Whilst we understand that these are unprecedented times, any legislative change must be proportionate and thought through, and should protect all of us. Minimising some of the safeguards in the Mental Health Act and extending its powers, is a step in the wrong direction.”

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Source: The London Economic, 19 March 2020

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Mental health charities struggling to cope with GP-referral influx

Mental health charities in England are struggling to cope with the number of sick patients referred to them by GPs, with under-qualified professionals increasingly tasked with treating the seriously ill.

Experts told the Guardian that some desperate GPs were “signposting” patients to services not always equipped to deal with them.

These are provided by unregulated charities, which employ practitioners who are not always transparent about their qualifications or level of competence.

Some charities reported struggling to cope with demand, with their staff, who do not need the specific qualifications required by the NHS, finding themselves tasked with helping the sickest patients.

“The issue is that people are desperate,” said Jaime Craig, who will be appointed chair of the Association of Clinical Psychologists in May. “There’s very limited access to services, and so people go to the GP and they say: ‘Well, I’ve had a flyer from this person who’s offering counselling, why don’t you try them?’

“To be fair to GPs, sometimes their local areas don’t have an awful lot to offer in terms of mental health support and they are struggling with the amount of people coming in for psychological or counselling support.

“But there’s a big problem because the patient can’t know whether what is being suggested on a leaflet or a website is OK unless someone does some vetting.”

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Source: The Guardian, 12 March 2025

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Mental health cases at A&E reach crisis level - as waits get longer and specialised beds dwindle

"We've got two," explains Emer Szczygiel, emergency department head of nursing at King George Hospital, as she walks inside a pastel coloured room. 

On one wall, there's floral wallpaper. It is scored through with a graffiti scrawl. The words must have been scratched out with fingernails. There are no other implements in here.

Patients being held in this secure room would have been searched to make sure they are not carrying anything they can use to harm themselves - or others.

"So this is one of two rooms that when we were undergoing our works, we recognised, about three years ago, mental health was causing us more of an issue, so we've had two rooms purpose built," Emer says.

"They're as compliant as we can get them with a mental health room - they're ligature light, as opposed to ligature free. They're under 24-hour CCTV surveillance."

There are two doors, both heavily reinforced. One can be used by staff to make an emergency escape if they are under any threat.

What is unusual about these rooms is that they are built right inside a busy accident and emergency department.

The doors are just feet away from a nurse's station, where medical staff are trying to deal with acute ED (emergency department) attendances.

On a fairly quiet Wednesday morning, the ED team is already managing five mental health patients.

One, a diminutive South Asian woman, is screaming hysterically.

She is clearly very agitated and becoming more distressed by the minute. Despite her size, she is surrounded by at least five security guards.

She has been here for 12 hours and wants to leave, but can't as she's being held under the Mental Capacity Act.

Her frustration boils over as she pushes against the chests of the security guards who encircle her.

"We see about 150 to 200 patients a day through this emergency department, but we're getting on average about 15 to 20 mental health presentations to the department," Emer explains.

"Some of these patients can be really difficult to manage and really complex."

"If a patient's in crisis and wants to harm themselves, there's lots of things in this area that you can harm yourself with," the nurse adds.

"It's trying to balance that risk and make sure every emergency department in the country is deemed a place of safety. But there is a lot of risk that comes with emergency departments, because they're not purposeful for mental health patients."

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Source: Sky News, 4 June 2025

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Mental health care ‘being rationed’ over failure to cut spiralling waiting list, top doctor warns

Mental health care is being rationed because the government is failing to tackle the spiralling waiting list, the UK’s top psychiatrist has warned, with 48,000 people facing delays of more than two years for treatment to start.

Nearly 1.7 million people were waiting for community care, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist appointment, for treatments including everything from severe depression to serious personality disorders at the end of December 2024.

That is up from 1.3 million in March 2024 and is in addition to the 7.4 million people on the countrywide NHS waiting list, which only counts patients with physical health problems.

Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the figures proved that mental health care was being downgraded in favour of other services.

She said: “It’s very clear that there has been a prioritisation of services; mental health care is not one of those services. As far as I’m concerned, it’s been rationed for years. It’s not been prioritised, full stop. I say that because we’ve got 1.7 million people who were waiting for mental health services.

“They are not being prioritised and so there is rationing of mental health care, full stop.”

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Source: The Independent, 14 July 2025

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Mental health care ‘being rationed’ over failure to cut spiralling waiting list, top doctor warns

Mental health care is being rationed because the government is failing to tackle the spiralling waiting list, the UK’s top psychiatrist has warned, with 48,000 people facing delays of more than two years for treatment to start.

Nearly 1.7 million people were waiting for community care, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist appointment, for treatments including everything from severe depression to serious personality disorders at the end of December 2024.

That is up from 1.3 million in March 2024 and is in addition to the 7.4 million people on the countrywide NHS waiting list, which only counts patients with physical health problems.

Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the figures proved that mental health care was being downgraded in favour of other services.

She said: “It’s very clear that there has been a prioritisation of services; mental health care is not one of those services. As far as I’m concerned, it’s been rationed for years. It’s not been prioritised, full stop. I say that because we’ve got 1.7 million people who were waiting for mental health services.

“They are not being prioritised and so there is rationing of mental health care, full stop.”

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Source: The Independent, 23 July 2025

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Mental health beds shortage 'causing distress'

More mental health hospital beds are needed in England to end the "distressing" sending of patients far from home, analysis suggests. Patients with conditions such as schizophrenia can be sent to hospitals miles away from their home if their nearby units do not have space. 

The Department of Health aims to end inappropriate far-away placements by 2021. But the Royal College of Psychiatrists report suggested the push had stalled. The number of inappropriate out-of-area placements at any one time has been consistently between 700 and 800 patients in recent months, after dipping below 600 towards the end of 2018.

Marjorie Wallace, Chief Executive of the charity Sane, said the drive to cut bed numbers had been "relentless" and caused "widespread distress and neglect".

"Far too many people contacting us are being shunted around the country like unwanted parcels," she said. "We believe this has led to ever more patients left at risk of self-harm and suicide."

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Source: BBC News, 6 November 2019

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Mental health advanced choice documents ‘would reduce sectioning’

Fewer people with mental illnesses would endure the trauma of being sectioned if advanced choice documents – setting out a treatment plan while they are well – were included in Mental Health Act reforms, a leading psychiatrist has said.

Advanced choice documents are the only proven way to reduce the number of people detained under the Mental Health Act in England and Wales, which is one of the reforms’ core objectives, said Dr Lade Smith, the president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Research suggests that the use of these documents can reduce compulsory detention rates in psychiatric units, often known as sectioning, by 25%, minimising traumatic experiences for people with bipolar, schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses.

“It’s high time there was reform of the Mental Health Act because the rates of detention are increasing, especially for marginalised groups, those who are poor or from a minoritised ethnic community, especially black Caribbean … Advanced choice docs were a recommendation of the review, I don’t know why they haven’t gone through,” said Smith.

Advanced choice documents are especially effective in reducing the significantly higher detention rates for black people with mental illnesses, as they can help patients feel more autonomous and reduce unconscious bias.

Advanced choice documents are similar to those used in palliative care. Patients work with a healthcare professional when they are well to outline the signs that they are experiencing a manic or psychotic episode, effective treatments, and their personal preferences.

This could include background information and trigger questions to help healthcare practitioners establish delusional thought patterns; medications and doses which have been effective previously; and requests to be put in hospital for their own safety, or – more unusually – that of others.

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Source: The Guardian, 12 February 2024

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Mental Health Act: Doctors should not use video assessments to detain patients during pandemic, say judges

Guidance from NHS England that doctors may lawfully use video assessments during the pandemic to decide whether patients should be detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act was wrong, two High Court judges have ruled.

The act makes it a legal requirement that doctors must “personally examine” a patient before recommending detention. A code of practice requires “direct personal examination of the patient and their mental state.” But guidance from NHS England just after the start of the first lockdown last March said that “temporary departures from the code of practice may be justified in the interests of minimising risk to patients, staff, and the public.” Revised guidance in May 2020 included a section drafted jointly by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care for England (DHSC) “for use in the pandemic only.” This stated, “It is the opinion of NHS England and NHS Improvement and the DHSC that developments in digital technology are now such that staff may be satisfied, on the basis of video assessments, that they have personally seen or examined a person ‘in a suitable manner.’ ”

The guidance added, “While NHS England and NHS Improvement and the DHSC are satisfied that the provisions of the Mental Health Act do allow for video assessments to occur, providers should be aware that only courts can provide a definitive interpretation of the law.” It went on, “Even during the COVID-19 pandemic it is always preferable to carry out a Mental Health Act assessment in person. Decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis and processes must ensure that a high quality assessment occurs.”

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Source: BMJ, 25 January 2021

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Mental health access frustration for deaf people

Deaf people are twice as likely to suffer mental health problems than those with hearing, a report has found.

The All Wales Deaf Mental Health and Wellbeing Group said help in Wales was behind the rest of the UK and it wants to see significant improvements.

It also described the inequalities faced by deaf people trying to access mental health support as "really frustrating".

The Welsh government said it would consider the findings of the report.

Ffion Griffiths, 23, from Neath, has been deaf since birth, and accessing child and adolescent mental health services in Wales has been a problem over the years. She had to travel to England to get the support she needed.

"It's really frustrating because deaf people in England have more opportunities," she said. It means they can be treated and get better quicker but for us, how can we do that?"

"How can we expect to recover if we don't have access to the services or any pathways for us to follow to get the treatment that we need in Wales?"

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Source: BBC News, 8 December 2021

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