Chronic lack of community care means mentally ill patients continue to languish in hospitals for years, as the number of people confined to hospital wards hits record highs. independent person can be revealed.
According to the analysis, 3,213 patients were confined to hospital wards for more than three months last year, including 325 children in adult wards. Of these, a “very worrying” number have been deemed fit to retire, but have nowhere to go.
One of them was Ben Craig, 34, who said he was left with a “scar” after being stuck on the ward for two years, even though he was healthy enough to leave. The reason for this was a dispute between two city councils over who would pay for his housing.
He missed his daughter’s birth and didn’t see her until she was two months old while waiting to be discharged from the hospital, which only worsened his depression.
he said independent person“I promised myself I would move on, but it seemed like forever.”
From 2022 to 2023, the average length of stay for patients admitted to low-security hospitals was 833 days. The NHS does not collect data on how long people wait to be discharged from hospital, but mental health charity Mind said Mr Craig’s case was by no means unique.
Leak report, obtainer independent personIt also reveals that while NHS community services are struggling to see patients, the NHS is spending hundreds of thousands of pounds a year to house patients who could be discharged.
Documents from 2022 to 2023 were obtained and analyzed. independent person reveal:
- Adult mental health beds cost between £500 and £1,000 per day in the NHS, compared to £5,000 per patient per year in community care.
- One in five referrals to community care are refused as NHS battles 12% staff vacancy rate
- Patients waited an average of 13 weeks to see a community mental health worker, but some patients waited up to 60 weeks
- Analysis of NHS data showed 3,213 people were unable to move for more than three months, an increase of 639 on the previous year and a record high.
- In August, 10% of patients waited 221 days to begin community care.
- 1 in 10 patients on community mental health teams have not seen a health professional in a year
Safran Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents the hospital, said: independent person Mental health patients confined to hospitals have experienced “personal distress” and fallen ill again while waiting.
She called on the government to put mental health on an “equal footing” with physical care, suggesting that failing to do so suggests the government is content not to treat all patients equally. said.
Ben Craig said he almost lost hope while waiting two years to be released from a psychiatric hospital.
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One NHS boss said long-term stays in mental health units were becoming “the norm” and patients were being institutionalized.
“The last 60 years and 90 years [days] The residents are simply being medicated and drifting away.They adjust medicines to stabilize the patient’s condition… People who stay for a long time can become completely dependent and lose connection with the world [and] Their life is terrible for people,” they said.
“Stolen”
Craig was admitted to Prestwich Hospital for psychosis in September 2019 from prison after his mental state deteriorated and he started hearing voices.
In 2020, he was told by doctors that he was healthy enough to be discharged home after completing his sentence. But then two years of his life were “stolen” from him when two councils fought over who would fund the mental health hostel he needed to be discharged from to help him recover. .
He was eventually discharged to assisted living in September 2022 and continues to receive mental health support.
Mr Craig, who now lives in Manchester, said: independent person: “I was very depressed and haven’t really gotten over it yet. When I was there, I didn’t even want to go out, I just stayed in bed.
“I missed my daughter’s birth and didn’t see her until she was two months old…It left a huge mark on me.”
Even when he was finally discharged to an assisted living facility, he said the community mental health team had “no involvement” in his care and still had difficulty communicating with the community services team. He said he was having a hard time.
Leanne Davies, head of legal at Mind, said: independent person Cases like Mr Craig’s show that councils are failing in their legal duty to fund community mental health support.
She said the charity had also seen patients who were discharged later than Mr Craig because of the issue.
“We are very concerned that people are stuck in hospitals and their lives are being disrupted because they don’t have access to housing support,” she said. “Delays in discharge can create uncertainty and anxiety, which can impede or reverse recovery.
“This places a huge emotional burden on individuals and their loved ones, but delayed discharges also mean fewer beds are available for people in mental health crises.”
She added that patients “have far better rights than to be held indefinitely in a hospital if they are well enough to be able to return to the community.” Davis said: [Mr Craig’s] This is a real opportunity to reduce delays and hurdles caused by disparate systems. ”
Greater Manchester University Hospital said: “We are fully committed to working with all system partners to ensure that patients are discharged from hospital where they are ready and as soon as it is safe to do so.” Ta.
Abena Oppong-Asare, Labour’s shadow mental health minister, said: independent personThe revelations showed NHS mental health services are “in crisis”.
She added: “independent person The investigation has revealed the horrifying reality that patients are being left in hospital for months, even though community care is far more effective and cheaper for the NHS. ”
As part of its election manifesto, Labor has promised to hire 8,500 more mental health professionals, to be paid for through plans to abolish “tax loopholes for private equity fund managers and tax breaks for private schools”. I was disappointed.
The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that an additional £116m will be invested in the NHS for mental health discharges in 2021-22, and a further £1bn will be invested in the sector by March 2024. said.
A spokesperson for NHS England said: “The NHS is treating record numbers of young people, community crisis services are seeing a 30% increase in referrals compared to pre-pandemic, and the NHS is urgently and urgently responding. “There is no doubt that mental health services are under enormous pressure because they are needed.” Emergency medical services are also treating record numbers. ”
