Mental Health Care in England to be streamlined

Posted 23/03/2016

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is consulting on draft recommendations that focus on supporting people with mental health problems as they transition between inpatient care and the community.

A review considering the provision of acute inpatient psychiatric care published in February 2016 recommended that if a person is admitted to hospital out of their home area then a named practitioner within the person’s home area should be identified to support them. This named practitioner will be the point of contact for the treatment ward and will be responsible for liaising with them to ensure recovery goals and self-harm risks are reviewed often. The suggestion comes in response to findings of a report on behalf of the Independent Commission led by Former Chief Executive of NHS England where it was identified that 500 patients travel more than 31 miles to access care each month as inpatient beds or services are not available within their local area.

The case of Matthew Garnett has been in the media recently highlighting the lack of care available in areas as populated as South London. Fifteen year old Matthew has autism, ADHD and anxiety, he was placed in a secure mental health treatment unit in Surrey; a two hour drive away from his parents. After a six month wait the family began a petition and a media campaign to highlight their son’s case. Their son is now being transferred to another unit which, although more appropriate for his care, will leave him even further away from his family. The Garnett family are campaigning to demonstrate that an increase in support in the community could have avoided the need for inpatient treatment.

The funding of mental health services has attracted much attention in Parliament over the course of the year and there is a pledge to provide more than £400 million to encourage round the clock treatment in communities as a safe and effective alternative to hospital.

Lauren Van Buren, a member of the clinical negligence team at Ashtons Legal, comments: “The support of family and friends during difficult times is absolutely crucial and goes a long way towards assisting in the care process surrounding mental health. The provision of a liaison practitioner will be a step in the right direction in the aim of achieving streamlined service but it is important that there remains a focus on making support available in the local area to enable people, and especially young people such as Matthew, to benefit from the support of family and friends during the course of their care.”