Labour has revealed that the number of beds in NHS mental health hospitals has fallen by a quarter since 2010, forcing more patients who are seriously ill to be taken far away from home in order to receive treatment.
Official figures show that the NHS in England now has almost 6,000 fewer beds for people with conditions such as schizophrenia or eating and personality disorders. There were 23,447 consultant-led mental health beds in 2010-11 and 17,610 in 2020-21, a reduction of 5,837 (25 per cent).
The ongoing pandemic is widely expected to lead to a surge in need for psychological and psychiatric help, with some experts anticipating a potential tripling of demand. Nonetheless, the supply of beds for vulnerable patients needing urgent treatment has been cut despite a big rise in recent years in the number of people seeking help from the NHS for mental illness, even before the pandemic.
The number of people in touch with NHS mental health services has risen from 117,000 in January 2016 to 141,000 in March this year – a 21 per cent increase. The number of specialist mental health beds decreased by about 1,500 during that time.
The number of people in contact with mental health services who were subject to the Mental Health Act, many of whom were sectioned into residential care for their own or others’ safety, also rose over almost the same period, from 13,437 in March 2016 to 20,494 in March this year, up 53 per cent.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Shadow Minister for Mental Health, said: “These figures are staggering. With bed availability at dangerous levels owing to cuts, and numbers of patients increasing, there is a perfect storm. The cuts to mental health beds have exacerbated waiting times for treatment for some of the most serious mental illnesses. Without beds, people requiring urgent treatment for eating disorders, schizophrenia and personality disorders are likely to face even longer waits.”
Dr Trudi Seneviratne, the registrar of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “Sending mental health patients far from home, sometimes hundreds of miles away, because there isn’t the right bed available locally, is completely unacceptable. It can have a devastating impact on patients and their loved ones. Treating patients close to home speeds up recovery, reduces the risk of suicide and shortens hospital stays.”
