Mental Health Care Industry Roundup

Mental Health Units Not Meeting Safety Requirements

According to a recent report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), 40% of NHS mental health facilities are being deemed as ‘unsafe’.

After inspecting every single mental health provider in England, the report found that there were numerous troublesome areas across NHS mental health services, such as insufficient staff, out-of-date wards, and areas with ligature risks, that compromised safety. CQC claimed that many of the places they inspected had ‘no place’ in modern healthcare, and were more like asylum-like units.

The biggest concern that came out of the report was the lack of safety, with 40% of NHS services and 39% of psychiatric units being classed as either ‘inadequate’ or ‘requiring improvement’ when it came to safety.

However, the report did find that services in mental health facilities performed very strongly on how ‘caring they were, with 96% of NHS and 98% of private institutions, classed as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding.’

Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s mental health chief, added: “We have already made huge steps forward – overall mental health funding is up by £1.4billion in real terms and 120,000 more people are getting specialist treatment than three years ago.

Plans for Scotland’s First Secure Mental Health Unit for Young People

Details for Scotland’s first National Secure and Forensic Inpatient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service have been unveiled.

The NHS Ayrshire and Arran board have approved of the £4.5m unit which will enable young people to be treated closer to home, and are now finalising a bid for funding.

Scotland current does not have a secure inpatient unit for children and teenagers who present a high forensic risk. The new unit is expected to accommodate patients of both sexes up to the age of 19 with complex psychiatric illnesses deemed too high risk to be treated in the community.

It has long been a complaint in Scotland that there is no suitable accommodation for seriously ill adolescents, some of whom are as young as 14. They are currently being situated in unsuitable adult psychiatric wards, paediatric wards, or even in secure hospitals in England, miles from home and family.

Patients Absconding from Mental Health Facilities Increases

Security within mental health units is under scrutiny after it is discovered that there has been a 64% increase in patients escaping over the past three years.

A Freedom of Information report from 19 mental health trusts shows that there had been a rise in the number of patients disappearing from units or failing to return from authorised leave. Figures show that the number of these incidents had soared by 38%, from 2,438 incidents in 2014 to 3,139 in 2016.

These results have come amidst cuts to mental health budgets, where funding was cut by approximately 8% during 2011-2015. The lack of funding and staff shortages have been largely to blame for these poor results.

Chief executive of mental health charity, SANE, Marjorie Wallace said she was not surprised by the figures, which come against a backdrop of nursing shortages.

She told the paper: “We hear reports almost constantly of appalling conditions on wards.

“People report that wards are overcrowded and often rife with aggression, fear, and illegal drugs, with too few, and often-demoralised, staff.

NHS Trusts are Failing Fire Safety Tests

In the wake of the Grenfell tragedy, all NHS trusts and foundation trusts have been carrying out urgent fire safety checks, with results finding that some have failed these tests.

Fire chiefs are warning that up to 38 hospital facilities could contain flammable materials as dangerous as Grenfell Tower.

Nine have already been identified as being at greatest risk. At least five so far have failed fire tests, and are having their cladding removed, whilst others are still waiting to hear back from the results.

Some of the trusts that are at risk have already employed additional fire warden patrols that are working 24-hours just in case. The NHS Improvement is also working hard and taking urgent steps to ensure that their facilities are in line with the most current guidance and are fully safe against the threat of fire.

A spokeswoman for NHS Improvement said: “Patient safety is paramount. There will be no disruptions to patient services or continuity of care.”