Mental Health Solicitors

An interim report by the Commission on Acute Adult Psychiatric Care has identified factors which could account for a shortage of beds in mental health services, Nursing Times reports.

An inquiry chaired by Lord Crisp has found that a “perceived crisis in the availability of mental health beds” is actually caused by delayed patient discharges.

NHS mental health patients having to charge hundreds of miles for treatment has been blamed on the shortage of mental health beds.

However, the report – commissioned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists – identifies concerns around variations in standards, poor data, lack of support for staff and fractured commissioning systems.

Many mental health trusts have made swingeing budget cuts of up to 20% in the last two years, with services being restructured and some wards amalgamated – or more helpline services being offered to help patients remain in their own homes and avoid becoming institutionalised on mental health wards.

A&E departments have said there has been an increase in acute care mental health patients attending emergency departments because they were unable to access community support services.

A former NHS chief executive and permanent secretary of the Department of Health, Lord Crisp said, however:

“We were asked to look at the so-called beds crisis – but when we looked at it, we discovered the real issue was delayed discharges and people in beds who shouldn’t be there.

“It is a discharge crisis and an alternative to admissions crisis,” he told the Health Service Journal.

The commission visited trusts and identified variations in the service quality.

“We visited trusts where people were obviously in crisis management mode all the time,” said Lord Crisp.

“People were under pressure, doctors were fighting to get people admitted, nurses were struggling, patients were unhappy – and the whole thing felt like a real pressure cooker. These were good people in a bad way.

“But we have also visited places where people were much more purposeful and understood where they were going and able to deliver a good service calmly.
“I am sure we will be saying something about quality improvement methodology and systematic change.”

Lord Crisp also flagged up a lack of quality data – which had hampered the commission’s work – and suggested that this issue would be a focus of its final report in early 2016.

The inquiry surveyed consultants at 56 mental health trusts and received 122 responses across 119 inpatient wards.

Trusts had an average bed occupancy rate of 104% – occasionally rising to 147%, with more than 91% of wards operating above the recommended 85% bed occupancy level.

The report also found 92% of mental health consultants reported treating patients who could have been treated by other services.

The commission concluded that three patients on every ward “did not need to be there”.

A total of 16% of patients per ward were identified as a “delayed discharge” – with the main cause being lack of suitable housing, which comprised 49% of the reasons for delays.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and can advise mental health patients on a wide range of issues, including access to mental health services and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors regularly visit hospitals and police stations to advise on mental health law – and in some cases may be able to advise the nearest relative or carer of a mental health patient on a range of issues, including initiating treatment reviews where appropriate.

For expert legal advice on mental health law, call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.