Steep rise in A&E mental health patients

Data compiled for the BBC by NHS Digital has shown a steep rise in the number of people arriving at A&E departments in England with mental health problems.

Between 2011-12 and 2015-16 the number of patients attending A&E units with psychiatric problems rose by nearly 50 per cent to 165,000. This only includes cases where the primary diagnosis was a psychiatric condition, although experts have assumed that such figures were likely to be the ’tip of the iceberg’.

Dr Marc Bush, chief policy adviser at the charity Young Minds, called for more investment.

He told the BBC: ”Far too many young people end up in A&E, which can be crowded and stressful, because there's nowhere more appropriate for them to go. One of the main reasons that crisis services are so overstretched is that young people who are struggling don't get help soon enough, which means that problems often escalate."

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity Sane, added: "The reported steep rise in the number of patients attending A&E units with psychiatric problems demonstrates the stark reality that many people in mental distress, some suicidal, feel they have nowhere else to turn.

"Unless resources are put urgently into community and in-patient services, people in mental health crisis will be failed, sometimes with tragic consequences."

Prime Minister Theresa May has unveiled plans to transform mental health support, offering extra support in schools, workplaces and communities.