Suicide fears over mental health wait

One in 10 mental health patients discharged from hospital after suffering a crisis has to wait more than a week for a follow-up appointment.

Mind’s survey of more than 850 patients also found that those who were not followed up within a week, if at all, were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide.

ONE IN 10 mental health patients discharged from hospital after suffering a crisis has to wait more than a week for a follow-up appointment, according to new figures.

The data, obtained by mental health charity Mind from responses to a freedom of information request by 54 of the 56 NHS mental health trusts in England, showed at least 11,000 people did not get an appointment or phone call within seven days of leaving hospital in 2015/16.

Its survey of more than 850 patients also found that those who were not followed up within a week, if at all, were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide than those who had a swift follow-up – at 16 per cent compared with seven per cent.

Figures reveal 88 per cent of people discharged from mental health hospitals in Yorkshire and the Humber were followed up within a week. The statistics showed that of the 3,460 people discharged from hospitals in the region in 2015-16, 475 weren’t followed up within a week.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) guidelines state all patients should be followed up within seven days, or 48 hours if deemed a suicide risk. The charity has called for all patients to be contacted after just two days, citing evidence given to a national inquiry that the highest proportion of those who take their own lives did so three days after discharge.

Sophie Corlett, director of ex- ternal relations at Mind, said: “This is not good enough. It is a tragedy that so many people so very recently leaving the care of hospital are losing their lives.”

She added: “Seven days is simply too long to wait when someone’s recovery is still at risk.”

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “We know that follow-up treatment is crucial for people with mental health conditions, which is why we have invested £400m to improve mental health crisis care in the community. Any failure to meet Nice guidelines on follow-up appointments must be taken extremely seriously.”