Mental health patients still being cared for miles from home

The British Medical Association is warning that the government’s failure to meet its promise to stop sending mentally unwell patients far from home for their care is continuing to harm some of society’s most vulnerable people.

New data shows that 1,260 new patients have been inappropriately sent for inpatient care miles from their homes in the three months up to August. Poorly resourced NHS mental health services mean this practice is becoming increasingly common, and is not just a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of new Inappropriate Out of Area Placements rose by nearly 10 per cent in the two months preceding lockdown, and the data also shows that the number of detentions under the Mental Health Act are at their highest level in four years, currently standing at 53,239.

The BMA has estimated that at least 1000 extra beds are required to meet overall mental health demand, and research from the Centre for Mental Health has recently reported that poor mental health has an economic and social cost of £119 billion per year.

Dr Andrew Molodynski, BMA mental health policy lead, said: “It is nothing short of appalling that, despite consistent warnings from the BMA and the wider mental health community, the Government is still allowing mentally unwell patients to be cared for miles from home, still failing to provide the mental health beds that are so desperately needed and failing to fund the workforce we need to provide the care People should feel that if their mental health deteriorates, they will be safely cared for and have a bed if they need it. Unfortunately, the current system is unable to offer that guarantee.”

“Those working in mental health care across the country know only too well the dire situation services are in, as patients, many with very severe and debilitating mental health problems, continue to suffer needlessly because of years of underinvestment. The backlog of care created by the pandemic means many have waited far too long for treatment and as such we are seeing an increase of demand alongside an increased severity in cases. This is in the context of a system that was already struggling to cope before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is heart-breaking that many of these patients are not getting the urgent and often lifesaving care they need or are being placed so far away that their loved ones cannot visit. No one should be placed in this terrifying position. The Budget was a wasted opportunity to reverse the government’s shameful track record on mental health, and it must urgently act to provide investment in services for adults, children and young people, and provide the beds that are lacking.”