Mental health patients face move for treatment
SOME mental health patients from Halton are being placed in hospitals nearly four hours away by car from home according to research by the British Medical Association (BMA).
The BMA said the average journey faced by patients with the 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (5BP) who are allocated beds out of the area is three hours and 37 minutes.
By public transport, the time extends to five hours and 39 minutes on average.
The BMA has warned that a shortage of beds at 5BP means those needing care being looked after as far as Darlington and Birmingham, meaning relatives can face a sevenhour round trip to visit their loved ones.
The association said the issue nationally is a risk to patients because medics located further from home are less likely to have a thorough knowledge of their back- ground and needs.
Andrew Molodynski, BMA consultants committee psychiatric speciality lead, said out-of-area admissions have opened up a ‘safety gap’.
A report published by the BMA said budget cuts and a ‘lack of high-quality community care’ as alternatives to hospital admissions were to blame in different areas.
Halton’s mental health trust 5BP, which runs the Brooker Centre in Runcorn and has now expanded and been rebranded as North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said is had made major reductions to the number of residents having to be located out of area since January.
Frank Hanily, NWB director of operations and integration, said: “The trust makes every effort to accommodate and treat patients as close to home as possible.
“Unfortunately, on occasion, when there are no beds ● available locally we have no option other than to send patients outside the area to make sure they receive the care they need.
“Since January 2017, we have improved processes to significantly reduce the number of people who need to be treated out of area, the length of time they spend out of area and the distance they are sent.
“Latest figures show that during April, four people were admitted for treatment out of area, and two in May.”
Mr Molodynski said: “Unfamiliar hospitals and staff lack the detailed knowledge of patients, held by their doctors back home.
“They’re less familiar with the risks patients pose to themselves and the treatments that have worked well in the past.”