Young mental health patients travelling further for treatment

New data collated from the British Medical Association (BMA) has outlined that 70 per cent of young people with severe mental health problems were admitted to hospitals outside of their areas last year.

The figures were obtained from NHS England via a freedom of information request and revealed that 69 per cent of child and adolescent admissions were classed OOA (out of area) in 2016-17, up from 57 per cent the previous year.

The statistics suggested access to nearby beds for such patients appears to have deteriorated significantly since 2014, when an NHS probe found the proportion of admissions classed as OOA to be rising but below 40 per cent in all English regions.

Evidence of these latest rises come as the number of patients admitted for child and adolescent mental healthcare fell by 15 per cent, from 4,485 in 2015-16 to 3,817 last year.

The figures also indicate a wide variations in access to CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health inpatient services) beds across England. The number of patients admitted to beds out of their area more than doubled in the south-west, and shot up by 92 per cent in Yorkshire and Humber but fell by 88 per cent in the east of England.

Gary Wannan, BMA committee on community care chair, described the new figures as ‘alarming’: “These figures show, alarmingly, that well over half of patients are being placed out of area at a time when they are at their most vulnerable.

“It can be an incredible wrench for children to leave their homes and being based far away is not going to help a young person in crisis. In some areas we have seen the rate of investment improve so patients don’t have to be treated so far from home; in others areas, patients haven’t been so fortunate.

“NHS England must ensure that, especially in these areas, the money gets through to local community teams so they can make a real difference to the lives of children, young people and their families.”