A&E mental health attendances soar
A&E attendances for mental health conditions have soared at University Hospitals Leicester over the past decade - to an average of 18 a day.
Exclusive figures show people with a diagnosis of psychiatric conditions visited the trust’s A&Es 6,540 times in 2018/19.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said A&E staff were being trained to help but emergency departments were not a good environment for those in a mental health crisis.
They said specialist services were “shockingly underfunded” and urgently needed more resources and staff.
The data - released by NHS Digital - shows overall numbers of attendances for mental health conditions at the trust’s A&Es have doubled in a year, from 3,130 in 2017/18.
There were 655 attendances by under 18s in 2018/19, up from 250 a year before, with 1,110 attendances by 18 to 24-year-olds, up from 525.
Dr Catherine Hayhurst, Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Chair of the RCEM’s Mental Health Sub-Committee, said: “The impact on children and young people coming to emergency departments is huge as they wait hours, and many get admitted to a ward pending being seen by [Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH)].
“They can end up on a ward next to many poorly toddlers and babies. They get a poor night’s sleep which cannot help their mental health assessment the next day.
“CAMH is shockingly underfunded given this known increase in activity for several years now.
“We are hoping the money pledged in the long term plan will come good, but there will not be sufficient trained staff for several years.”
University Hospitals of Leicester also saw 2,110 attendances for psychiatric conditions by those aged 25 to 49, 745 for those aged 50 to 64, and 1,920 for over-65s.
Vicki Nash, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Mind said the rise could be down to increased awareness of mental health meaning more people are asking for help when they are unwell, but she added they also indicate that people are not getting the right support or treatment early on enough.
She said: “There needs to be much greater focus on making sure people can access the right treatment at the right time, to avoid reaching crisis point.”
Emma Thomas, Chief Executive of YoungMinds, said: “It is alarming that there has been such a sharp rise in young people arriving in A&E needing mental health support.
“One of the main reasons that crisis services are overstretched is that young people who are struggling don’t get help soon enough, which means that problems can escalate. We often hear from young people who’ve gone to A&E because they don’t know where else to turn – but A&E can be a crowded and stressful environment, and is usually not the best place to get appropriate help.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “To get people the mental health support they need, we are transforming services as part of our Long Term Plan for the NHS, backed by an extra £2.3 billion in real terms by 2023/24.
“We will continue to invest in community services, including clear standards for patients needing community mental health treatment. For those who do need help at A&E, we are investing £249 million to roll out liaison mental health teams in every acute hospital by 2020 to ensure they get the care they need.”