Bed pressures now ‘relentless’, reports CQC

Mental health trusts are under “daily relentless pressure” on their inpatient beds, the Care Quality Commission has warned.

Most trusts the regulator spoke to said their beds were running “at, or near to” 100% occupancy, according to its annual State of Care report. The CQC interviewed mental health trust leaders after inspecting emergency departments over the winter.

NHS England data in the report shows the average number of available overnight mental health beds fell from 18,139 in 2022-23 to 17,870 in 2025-26. Occupancy has stayed above the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ recommended 85% throughout.

Demand is still rising. Monthly referrals to secondary mental health services rose 7% in 2025-26, to an average of 483,797. The number of people with severe mental illness in contact with community services rose 6%, to 681,149 per month.

The CQC said long waits in EDs were “often linked to difficulties securing appropriate mental health inpatient beds”. Inspectors in London and the South East found some people with mental health needs waiting several days, one of them for six days.

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Source: HSJ, 23 October 2026