Nearly 38,000 vital follow-up appointments with mental health patients were missed at a time when they were most at risk of suicide, the Royal College of Psychiatrists said.
The medical body has called for “urgent action” to ensure more people are followed up within 72 hours of being discharged from hospital care, to prevent them from falling “through the cracks when they are so vulnerable”.
Suicide risk is highest on the second and third day after leaving a mental health ward, but 37,999 patient follow-up appointments were missed within this time period in England between April 2020 and May 2022 .
According to National Health Service Based on the data, of the 160,430 cases in which patients were eligible for follow-up care within 72 hours of discharge from acute adult mental health care, only three-quarters (76%) occurred within that period.
A follow-up target of at least 80% of people within this time period was introduced in 2019-20, but this has never been achieved.
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics indicates that 4,912 suicides were recorded in England in 2020, with a male suicide rate of 15.3 per 100,000 and a female suicide rate of 4.9.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling for more trained specialists to monitor those perceived to be at risk, which they say requires more staff and funding.
President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Dr Adrian James, said: “We simply cannot afford to let people fall by the wayside at a time when they are so vulnerable. It is vital that our mental health services are adequately staffed and funded to provide adequate follow-up care and help prevent suicides.
“Staff are working as hard as they can to provide high-quality care, but it is clear that current resources are not sufficient to meet these goals. We need urgent action to address the workforce crisis and achieve the suicide prevention goals set out in the National Health Service long term plan.”
Follow-up appointments should be done face-to-face with specialized staff, either in the patient’s home or in a care facility.
An NHS spokesperson said: “NHS mental health services are treating more people than ever before, whether it’s for talk therapy, eating disorders or people with serious mental illness receiving care in the community.
“The NHS set an ambitious target for follow-up appointments of 72 hours, which was previously seven days; this is in addition to a variety of on-site support, including 24/7 crisis phone lines across the country, so anyone struggling with their mental health should come forward and get the support what do you need”.
In the UK and Ireland, the Samaritans can be contacted by calling 116 123 or by emailing [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the Lifeline crisis support service is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
