Rise in mental health patients placed in out-of-area beds

New figures have revealed that nearly 6,000 mental health patients had to be sent far out of their local area for treatment last year.

Obtained by the British Medical Association (BMA), the data highlights how the number of patients with mental health problems travelling long distances for care in England has risen by 40 per cent in two years, with 5,876 travelling out of their area for treatment in 2016/17 compared to 4,213 in 2014/15.

£159 million was spent on placing patients in out-of-area beds in 2016-17, a 47 per cent rise on 2014/15, which sat up at £108 million. The figures show that Kent and Medway, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey sent the highest number of patients out of their area, while Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust sent a patient the greatest distance, 587 miles.

During the BMA Annual Conference, chairman Dr Mark Porter, shared his belief that the government’s ambitions to put mental health care on a par with physical care remained a ‘very distant prospect’.

Responding to the data, an NHS England spokesperson said: “NHS England is investing an extra £400m in crisis resolution home treatment teams as part of our plans for the biggest expansion of mental health services in Europe. We’re also giving local mental health trusts new powers to tailor mental health services to better meet their area’s individual needs, improving local services and ending the practice of sending people long distances to receive treatment.”