CQC REPORT RESPONSE
IN response to a report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on the inspection of specialist mental health services in England the findings in this report echo those from our investigation into out of area placements for adults receiving mental health care and the unacceptable increases in patients treated for mental illness in an unfamiliar place, far from friends and family.
While we support the Government’s aims to eliminate out-of-area placements, this is not due to happen until 2020-21 and patients are being failed by a system at breaking point right now, which shows limited signs of improving.
This report acknowledges mental health services are under unprecedented pressure as a combination of fewer beds and rising demand putting providers in a position where they rely on the independent or private sector to offer beds.
It’s also worrying that detentions under the Mental Health Act and the use of restrictive measures are increasing rather than decreasing year on year.
The Government says the endemic shortage of NHS mental health beds can be solved by improving community care, but this is naïve.
While better community care is welcome, it will not ease the bed crisis completely.
There needs to be a true parity of esteem between physical and mental health services before we see a meaningful change in the experiences of mental health patients. ●