Watchdog: Lack of mental health beds saw mother detained five hours from home

A mother-of-two was placed in a hospital five hours from home, while another woman spent hours in a police staff room because of a lack of suitable facilities, a watchdog’s report into mental health services has found.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said a lack of inpatient beds, alongside staff shortages and training challenges, are leading to people who need help being detained far from where they live “often in environments that don’t meet their needs”.

The health regulator for England warned that a rise in demand increases the risk of patients being discharged from hospital too soon, not getting the right support in the community and potentially needing to be readmitted.

The CQC report said ward managers had told of the “pressure to discharge the ‘least unwell’ patients”, while some carers told inspectors of occasions where “after struggling to get an admission, their loved one seems to leave hospital too soon while still very unwell”.

The regulator said it interviewed more than 4,500 people who were detained under the Mental Health Act, covering 870 wards, and spoke to relatives and people who were previously detained.

Examples in their report included a mother-of-two who was admitted to a mental health hospital five hours from home for a period of four weeks, during which her family were unable to visit.

She told inspectors the experience “took a significant emotional toll and Grace worried about her children feeling that she did not love them”.

Another example saw a diabetic woman left without access to insulin while waiting hours in a police staff room after being detained under emergency powers.

No suitable facilities had been available within a four-hour radius, and when one eventually was, the woman – who is autistic – told how she struggled in a space which made her feel like “an animal in a cage”.

The CQC said its report “highlights the ongoing challenges in mental health care that are compounding the pressures on mental health inpatient services.”

They added: “The issues we raise will be all too familiar to many, including the shortage of staff and staff in post not always having the right training to meet the needs of all of the people they care for.

“This, combined with a lack of inpatient beds, means that people continue to be detained a long way from home, often in environments that don’t meet their needs.

“Through our conversations with thousands of patients, carers and staff, we have heard time and again how being detained in a hospital far from home can make people feel isolated from their support network and have a detrimental effect on recovery.”

The CQC said they remain concerned about “continuing problems with workforce retention and staffing shortages, as well as concerns around training and support for staff”.

They also warned “many” young people are “still falling through the gaps and not getting the care and support they need” when they move from children and young people’s to adult mental health services.

Interim director of mental health at the CQC, Jenny Wilkes said: “While the Mental Health Bill aims to address inappropriate detentions and improve mental health care, this can’t be addressed by legislation alone as there simply aren’t the resources to fix these issues.

“Without timely access to necessary mental health support, people may find themselves being bounced from service to service without ever receiving the level of care that they need. This is a particular concern for children with mental health needs who risk missing out on school and their social life, and carrying their trauma and feelings of isolation into adulthood.

“It is essential that the Government addresses these significant gaps now to protect people for the future. With the right funding, a sustainable and well-trained workforce and enough beds to meet demand, we can break this damaging cycle.”

Mental health charity Mind described the report as “heartbreaking”.

Its chief executive, Dr Sarah Hughes (pictured), said: “The testimony of people who have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, in too many cases, describes a system which is light years away from delivering not just effective, but compassionate care.

“Fundamental problems with the very basics of safe care, like adequate staffing levels, bed capacity and run-down hospitals, are severely impacting people’s ability to properly recover.

“Being sent hundreds of miles away from your family and loved ones, and not even being able to contact them due to facility issues, would be difficult enough at the best of times, let alone when you’re experiencing a mental health crisis.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This report has highlighted serious challenges faced by patients treated under the Mental Health Act, demonstrating the need for urgent reform.

“Through our Mental Health Bill, we are making this legislation fit for the 21st century, giving patients greater choice and autonomy, as well as ensuring everyone is treated with dignity and respect to improve patient outcomes and recovery.

“To address staff shortages, we are recruiting 8,500 more mental health workers, and we will update the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan to ensure the health service has the right people, with the right skills, to deliver the care that patients need.”

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