Mental health: too many

patients, not enough beds

FRI DAY 12 SEPEM!ER 2"1#
Almost t$o thi%ds o& mental health t%usts in England that %esponded to a
'hannel # (e$s &%eedom o& in&o%mation %e)uest say thei% &unding has been
*ut, $ith a sho%tage o& beds th%eatening patient *a%e+
E,e%y mo%ning Rebe**a -ulian .pi*tu%ed abo,e $ith son om/ d%i,es a*%oss
(o%$i*h to he% son om0s house to gi,e him his medi*ation+ hat bit is
impo%tant, but a*tually it is mostly to *he*1 that he is in &a*t still ali,e+ And
e,e%y mo%ning the same thoughts go th%ough he% mind+
om has a histo%y o& se,e%e dep%ession and sel&2ha%ming and he has t%ied to
ta1e his o$n li&e se,e%al times+ So $hen his mothe% *alled the lo*al mental
health t%ust0s *%isis team at Easte% it $as be*ause she belie,ed that he $as
in dange% o& 1illing himsel&+
!ut it too1 them 2" hou%s to a%%i,e+ M%s -ulian 3%mly belie,es it is be*ause
they 1ne$ the%e $ould be no beds &o% him at the lo*al mental health t%ust+
And although, (o%&ol1 and Su4ol1 (5S Foundation %ust $ill not *omment
on indi,idual *ases, the *han*es a%e she $as %ight+
!eds &ull
he%e ha,e been times in the past *ouple o& yea%s $hen they ha,e sent 6"
o% #" people sometimes hund%eds o& miles a$ay be*ause thei% beds ha,e
been &ull+ A ne$ management team has %e*ently been b%ought in and they
ha,e managed to %edu*e this to se,en o% eight+
!ut $hen I as1ed the ne$ *hie& e7e*uti,e Mi*hael S*ott ho$ they $e%e
&a%ing this $ee1, he said they $e%e 8,e%y busy8+ And I $as le&t $ith the
distin*t imp%ession that this $as an unde%statement+
A *ampaign to imp%o,e mental health se%,i*es in (o%&ol1 and Su4ol1 $as
sta%ted last yea% by a despai%ing so*ial $o%1e%, e%%y S1y%me+ 5e $o%1s &o%
one o& the *%isis teams, so is at the &%ontline, $hen patients a%e &eeling thei%
$o%st+ 5e boo1ed a %oom &o% 1"" people+ h%ee hund%ed tu%ned up+
0(e,e% 1no$n it this bad0
8I ha,e $o%1ed in mental health sin*e 19:2 and I ha,e ne,e% 1no$n it this
bad,8 he said+ 8Yeste%day I $as on duty &o% %e&e%%als unde% the mental health
a*t+ ;e had eight %e&e%%als but the%e $e%e no beds a,ailable+8
his is not a situation that is <ust a4e*ting (o%&ol1 and Su4ol1 2 it is a
p%oblem at mental health t%usts %ight a*%oss England+ he%e a%e too &e$
beds, too many patients, the%e is too little money and a**o%ding to ou%
%esea%*h, the &unding is only getting $o%se+
For the first time, Channel 4 News can reveal the extent of the cuts across England's 47
adult acute mental health trusts. Under the freedom of information act. we asked them
for their udgets in !"#$%#4 and !"#4%#&. 'f the $4 who res(onded, !! % nearl) two
thirds % said their funding had een cut. *ut we can also reveal that #+ have cut their
crisis team udgets, and #, % more than half % have taken mone) awa) from their
communit) mental health teams.
So the se%,i*es needed &o% the most ill, the *%isis teams, o% those $hi*h
help 1eep patients out o& hosptial and $ell, a%e &eeling the b%unt o& these
*uts+ And it is not <ust the p%essu%e on beds, these *uts a%e also being &elt
by the poli*e+
'hannel # (e$s has been passed a lette% $%itten less than a month ago by
an inspe*to%+ he lette% says a man, detained in =ing0s >ynn, should ha,e
been assessed unde% the mental health a*t, but no bed *ould be &ound+
0?nla$&ul imp%isonment0
he lette% states: 8@u% 'ustody @A*e% no$ 3nds himsel& in a position $he%e
they a%e being as1ed to detain someone in a *ell $ithout *lea% la$&ul
autho%ity to do so, $hi*h may amount to unla$&ul imp%isonment+8 It also
says this $as 8inapp%op%iate8 and it $as an 08unsuitable en,i%onment8 &o%
su*h a pe%son+
In Feb%ua%y this yea%, the 5ealth Ministe%, (o%man >amb, announ*ed a
*on*o%dat on *%isis mental health *a%e, designed to spe*i3*ally add%ess this
situation+ $enty2t$o national o%ganisations, in*luding the Asso*iation o&
'hie& Poli*e @A*e%s, the 5ome @A*e and the Royal 'ollege o& Psy*hiat%ists,
signed up to it+ he *ha%ity Mind is o,e%seeing its implementation+
!ut as $ith e,e%ything, it is about the money+ he%e is not enough and the%e
is no sign o& it imp%o,ing+ Mental health has histo%i*ally been unde%&unded 2
disp%opo%tionately so+ !ut the%e $as out%age $hen (5S England and the
health %egulato% Monito% %e*ommended *utting &unding &o% mental health
se%,i*es by 2" pe% *ent mo%e than &o% a*ute hospitals+
!%o1en p%omises
(ot only $as this un&ai%, it b%o1e the go,e%nment0s p%omise to put the t$o
se%,i*es on an e)ual &ooting 2 pa%ity o& &unding, they *all it+ hese a%e the
3gu%es, though: mental health a**ounts &o% 2B pe% *ent o& the disease
bu%den but gets <ust 16 pe% *ent o& the budget+
;hen $e put ou% F@I 3gu%es to the Depa%tment o& 5ealth, they $e%e ,e%y
1een to point out it is the *lini*al *ommissioning g%oups .the ''CS/ $ho a%e
%esponsible &o% ensu%ing lo*al mental health se%,i*es a%e p%ope%ly &unded+
hen they $anted to ensu%e $e 1ne$ that it $as (5S England $hi*h had
made the de*ision on the %e*ent &unding %ound+
My imp%ession is that the mental health *ha%ities, li1e Mind and Rethin1,
and the Royal 'ollege o& Psy*hiat%ists, do not gi,e a toss $ho *ut $hat
$he%e+ hey <ust $ant people $ith mental illnesses to %e*ei,e the *a%e they
ha,e e,e%y %ight to+
-osted ) .havam