24.11.14
3,300 mental health nursing posts lost in the last four years
Mental health services across the UK are under “unprecedented strain”, with a steep fall in nurse numbers and available beds at a time of rising demand, according to a new report published by the Royal College of Nursing.
The last four years have seen a net drop of more than 3,300 posts in mental health nursing across England from 41,320 in 2010 to 38,055 in 2014, the report says, with more experienced nurses disproportionately lost and the expectation of more to come as older nurses retire.
According to the RCN's figures, the decline represents an 8% loss of posts in the past four years in England. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, posts were cut by 1%.
The report also shows that since 2010 around 1,500 available beds have been lost from the system in England alone. This represents a reduction of 6% at a time when demand rose by 30%.
Admissions to inpatient units have risen over the same period, with the RCN’s evidence suggesting that this is linked to the loss of early intervention and crisis resolution services.
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN said: “The fact that mental health services are now facing staff cuts and bed shortages is a shocking tragedy which is having a real and lasting impact on those who desperately need the right care and support.
“We are running the serious risk of turning back the clock and undoing all the good work that has gone before. There was a time when people who had mental health problems would be left to deal with them alone unless or until they were sick enough to be detained in an institution.
“The establishment of early intervention services was a great leap forward, and has helped many people live well who may once have been written off. The sterling work of the nurses and doctors who helped turn this around is in danger of being undone through short sighted responses to cost pressures.”
According to the RCN, the loss of these services means many people experiencing symptoms of psychosis and serious mental illness have to wait until they are ill enough to be detained under the Mental Health Act before they can access treatment as an inpatient. The College points to a rise in detentions under the Mental Health Act of 13% between 2009-10 and 2012-13 as evidence of this.
Dr Carter added: “Money is tight in the NHS but if we are serious about treating mental illness in the same way as physical illness, then people must be offered what they need before reaching crisis point. If staffing levels and services are cut back further, then services will continue to crumble which would be a tragedy for us all to say nothing of all the thousands of private tragedies that could result.
“Our report makes for sobering reading but with the right resources and funding, and commitment from all levels of Government, we can ensure that this important arm of nursing is protected so that it can continue to care and support for people when they are at their most vulnerable. To do otherwise would plainly be wrong.”
The report was welcomed by the mental health charity Mind, who said it exposes some of the unique pressures affecting mental health services.
Sophie Corlett, director of external relations at the charity, said: “Historic underfunding, compounded by cuts over three consecutive years, have left mental health services struggling to cope, at a time when demand is increasing. The lasting impact of the recession, unemployment and changes to the welfare system are all having an impact on the mental health of the nation and Mind has seen a huge increase in calls to our infoline over the past couple of years. The result of the squeeze on resources is that people don’t’ get the help they need, when they need it.
“NHS England and clinical commissioning groups need immediately to review the state of mental health services and do everything in their power to ensure the resources are there to help people at their most unwell. They must prioritise mental health services, both to ensure parity of esteem with services for physical health problems and to safeguard existing services.”
She added that Mind is calling on the government to increase the NHS mental health budget by a minimum of 10% in real terms over five years.
A Department of Health spokesman said: "Mental health is a priority for this government which is why we announced last month an additional £120m to improve care and introduced the first ever waiting time standards, which underpins our legislation on parity of esteem."
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