NHS trust spent £76m on private mental health beds in 8 years

BOSSES BLAME DEMAND AND RISING PRICES

NEARLY 500 patients have been moved to private mental health facilities in the last eight years, costing the taxpayer £76 million.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT), which is responsible for the county’s mental health care, spent £14m on private beds in 2022/23.

The figure is the highest on record and a stark increase on the £26,085 forked out in 2014/15.

The trust said the rise was due to increased demand and the cost of private beds.

Like procedures such as eye, hip and knee operations, the NHS outsources mental health support to the private sector. This means trusts rely on private providers, some of whom can be based miles away from patients’ homes, for complex and expensive specialised care.

The amount of money spent on private beds steadily increased from £2m to £6.4m between 2015 and 2018, but ballooned to £11m in 2018/19. This figure has risen by about £1m each year since, a Freedom of Information request shows.

The number of patients being transferred to private providers has dropped. In 2019, 154 adults and 93 children were transferred, while 34 adults and 16 children were moved in 2022. That is a perpatient rise from £44,500 to £254,000.

NHFT chief executive Ifti Majid said the costs had been driven by an increase in bed price.

The number of patients who were cared for by private providers grew to 55 adults and 21 children part-way through last year.

“The increase in demand for beds that we have seen recently is due to a combination of factors including an increase in numbers of patients presenting as requiring inpatient care, the severity of the illnesses being treated and the complexity of arrangements that needs to be made to support people to return to the community,” said Mr Majid.

He said the upwards spending trend was likely to continue. “This mirrors the national picture of high demand for inpatient beds and an increase in the complexity of patients cared for, so not an issue unique to Nottinghamshire Healthcare,” he said.

“Like many other trusts, we are carrying out lots of improvements to ensure we have the right number of beds in the right place. This includes working with health and care partners to ensure that when patients are ready to be discharged from hospital, they have the right housing or social care support, and access to the right treatment options while in hospital.”

A review of NHFT services, after the conviction of killer Valdo Calocane, found the trust did not always keep patients and the public safe.