The shocking number of patients who are dying while under the care of stretched community mental health services can be revealed for the first time after a major NHS report was leaked to The Independent.
More than 15,000 people are estimated to have died in a single year while being cared for by community mental health teams – as trusts scramble for staff and funding while the demand for care is at an all-time high.
The figures, which relate to deaths between March 2022 and March 2023, can be revealed after a concerned insider handed the secret report to this publication. Health officials admitted the statistics had been collated for the first time last year in a bid to reduce deaths – but have not made them public.
The leaked report reveals that:
- At least 137 women died between 2022 and 2023 while under the care of services for pregnant women at one unnamed trust.
- Nearly one in 10 of the patients treated by a crisis service – designed to help those with the most severe mental health conditions – died while under that care.
- One unnamed mental health trust recorded more than 500 deaths in that year-long period.
Source: The Independent, 22 April 2024
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