A royal college has issued a warning that despite a government vow to stop it, thousands of mentally ill people are being compelled to get inpatient care distant from home.
Once the March 2021 deadline for the practice passed, the Royal College of Psychiatrists asserted that more than 8,000 patients had found care elsewhere.
Mentally Ill Patients Subjected to Out-of-Area Placements
Patients usually receive fewer visits from care coordinators, family members, and friends when they are admitted to facilities that are outside of their catchment area.
Nonetheless, patients should be admitted near to where they live, as per NHS best practices. The method may be considered suitable in specific situations, such as when there are worries about child safety.
The government pledged to stop sending adults for acute inpatient care to “inappropriate” remote locations by 2020–2021.
However, a study of the data by the Royal College of Psychiatrists showed that 8,925 out-of-area placements have occurred since the deadline passed.
According to the college’s data, there were an average of 12 new placements per day between April 2021 and March 2023, resulting in 5,335 patients being transported more than 100 kilometers (approximately 60 miles) from their homes.
The British Medical Association (BMA) and the college have now requested that the placements end and that funding for mental health services be raised in a letter to mental health Deputy Minister for Mental Health Maria Caulfield said.
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Critical Need for a Robust Mental Health Workforce
When patients need to be hospitalized, it is crucial to have sufficiently staffed inpatient wards, which depend on a strong mental health workforce.
Dr. Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “First and foremost, we need substantial community services to avoid admission whenever possible.
This is significantly inadequate in a variety of respects, including the necessity for beds nearby when patients need to be admitted.
Dr. James also demanded that the NHS workforce plan, a long-awaited document that would evaluate the need for staffing across the health system, be published immediately.
It is critical to have sufficiently staffed inpatient wards, which depend on a strong mental health workforce when patients need to be admitted to the hospital.
This is not possible without the highly awaited NHS Workforce Plan, which must be made public right away.
If these installations continue, the cost will ultimately fall on the patients.
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