Adult mental health patients in England have spent more than 200,000 days receiving treatment in “inappropriate” out-of-area locations, at a cost to the National Health Service of £102 million, in the year since the government pledged to end the practice.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists, which carried out the analysissays such placements, where mental health patients can be sent hundreds of miles from home, are a shameful and dangerous practice that must end.
The government said it would end such placements in April last year but, in the 12 months since then, 205,990 days have been inappropriately spent outside the area, at a cost equivalent to the annual salaries of more than 900 consultant psychiatrists. found college.
Dr Adrian James, president of the university, said: “The failure to remove inappropriate locations outside the area is a scandal. It is inhumane and is costing the NHS millions of pounds every year that could be spent on helping patients get better.
“No one with a mental illness should have to travel hundreds of miles from home to get the treatment they desperately need.”
He said investment was needed in properly staffed local beds, alternatives to admission and follow-up care in the community, as well as government support “to address the workforce crisis that continues to plague mental health services.” .
Rebecca Regler, 35, from south-east England, waited 14 weeks for a bed in an eating disorders unit before being admitted to hospital in Scotland for anorexia in the spring of last year. She said that she was devastated when she was told that she would be sent to Scotland.
“Although I experienced excellent care, it was a very difficult time,” he said. “I was in the hospital for nine months. It’s a long time being away from your family and friends and I definitely think that not being able to have visitors affects your recovery, it has a negative effect.
“I think we need urgent reserved funding now. Getting treatment 300 miles away is not acceptable and has a huge impact on patients and their families.”
Regler said that as part of the treatment, patients were supposed to have home visits where they would practice following their meal plan, but this was impossible in a hospital hundreds of miles from where you live.
The university says being sent away from home can have devastating long-term consequences for patients’ mental health and jeopardize their recovery.
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Their analysis, released Monday, says that in fiscal year 2021/22, 71% of inappropriate out-of-area placements that ended during that time lasted 15 nights or more, while 40% lasted 31 nights or more. In March, more than half of all out-of-area inappropriate placements saw patients travel more than 100km from home because a local bed was unavailable for the eighth consecutive month, it found.
The university says the coronavirus pandemic and cost-of-living crisis have put increased pressure on mental health services and that removing inappropriate out-of-area placements “will require a significant and sustained effort by the entire system.” ”.
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “Everyone should have access to safe and appropriate mental health care and we recognize the impact receiving care away from loved ones can have.
“That’s why we’re investing an extra £2.3bn a year to transform NHS mental health services by 2024, meaning more people will be able to receive care as close to home as possible.”
