01.11.11
Mental health stats show increases in hospitalisation and treatment
There has been a rise in the number of people spending time in NHS mental health hospitals for the first time in five years.
The figure stood at 107,765 for 2009/10, data released by The NHS Information Centre shows.
Its chief executive Tim Straughan said: “This report is accompanied by the largest release of information ever about NHS mental health services and will be a source of huge interest to those developing services on the ground.
“It shows more people are being treated by NHS specialist mental health services and that more than 90% of these patients receive care outside of hospital. Interestingly, the number of patients being admitted has risen for the first time in five years and the figures show the composition of patients receiving care in hospital is shifting, with a small but growing proportion coming from a prison or court setting.”
The rise was due to an increase of 30.1% in the number of people detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act (MHA) - from 32,649 in 2008/09 to 42,479 in 2009/10.
More than 1.25 million people were recorded as using NHS specialist mental health services in the year – the highest number since the data collection began in 2003/04. The number of women detained under the MHA who came into hospital via prison or the courts was 830, an estimated rise of more than 85%. The number of men in this category rose by 48% from 1,982 to 2,935.
More data is available at http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/mhbmhmds0910
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