02.06.14
Patients sectioned 'to secure hospital beds'
A growing number of patients are being sectioned in order to secure a bed as financial cuts and pressures are taking their toll on mental health services, according to a survey of junior doctors.
The study by the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Psychiatric Trainees' Committee (PTC) revealed that 24% of junior doctors reported that a bed manager had told them that unless their patient had been sectioned they would not get a bed.
Of the 576 trainees that responded to the PTC, 70% said they had experienced difficulty finding an appropriate bed for a patient at least once. In child and adolescent services (CAMHS) that figure was 83%. Additionally, 80% had sent a patient outside the local area for a bed, 15% doing this more than monthly.
In a statement sent to NHE, care minister Norman Lamb MP said: “It is not acceptable to detain someone under the Mental Health Act purely because they need an inpatient bed. Decisions about detention must always be taken in the best interests of patients at risk of harming themselves or others.
“Inpatient beds must always be available for those who need them. We are scrutinising local NHS plans to make sure they put mental health on a par a par with physical health.”
The report also highlighted that 37% of junior doctors said a colleague’s decision to detain a patient under the Mental Health Act had been influenced by the fact that doing so might make the provision of a bed more likely, and 18% said their own decisions had been influenced in such a way.
Dr Howard Ryland, chair of the PTC, said: “Psychiatry is a highly rewarding profession, but the difficulties highlighted by this survey demonstrate how challenging it can be to work in mental health services currently. If these serious shortcomings are not immediately addressed, it will become increasingly difficult to recruit and retain the dedicated psychiatrists our patients need.”
Trainee psychiatrist Dr Alex Langford added that the fact that psychiatrists have to consider sectioning patients to secure something as basic as a bed is a “huge warning sign of extreme under provision. These doctors are using the only option they have left to ensure very unwell people get the care they desperately need”.
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