Hospital bosses warn that mental healthcare is a national emergency

The NHS Confederation have said that mental health has fallen down the priority list and, as a result, patients are being forgotten. Bosses have stated that services are unable to cope with the post-COVID surge of people needing help, making mental healthcare a ‘national emergency’.

With mental healthcare being so stretched, people undergoing a mental health crisis are often admitted to acute hospitals despite them not being equipped to deal with these issues.

Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

“Mental health has slipped down the government’s set of priorities and patients and services are being forgotten. This is a national emergency which is now having serious consequences across the board, not least for those patients in crisis.”.

People experiencing a mental health crisis are spending up to 50 hours in A&E because NHS support for them outside hospitals is so limited, as reported by the NHS Confederation.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/09/mental-healthcare-in-england-is-a-national-emergency-say-hospital-bosses