Savage nursing cuts put mental health patients at 'high risk' of harm

Crisis: Shadow minister for health Luciana Berger says mental health services are failing patients

Thousands of mental health patients are being put in danger due to an alarming shortfall in specialist nurses.
New figures show mental health services are under “serious pressure” because of a perfect storm of savage cuts to nurse training places at the same time as spiralling demand for care.
Experts last night (FRI) branded mental health services a “a car crash” and warned that Britain’s most vulnerable people were being “left to cope alone with self-harm and suicidal thoughts”.
As specialist mental health nurses leave the service, the number of trainees coming in to step into their shoes has fallen sharply as training places are cut.

Under pressure: Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter admits there are fewer training places

New figures show that there have been on average around 500 fewer mental health nurse training places over the course of this parliament than over the last parliament, according to a parliamentary written answer from health minister Dan Poulter.
At the same time demand has rocketed by 30%, experts say.
This is putting unprecedented pressure on mental health staff which critics warn are becoming increasingly unable to cope with the demand for support.
There are now reports of growing caseloads and nurses working in mental health hospitals which are are dangerously overstretched.
Luciana Berger, Labour’s shadow minister for public health, said: “These figures show we are heading for a drop off in the mental health workforce which we simply cannot afford.
“Through their short-sighted decisions, ministers have stored up trouble for the future, with vulnerable mental health patients at the highest risk.
“The approach of this Tory-led and Liberal Democrat Government has been one of failure and false economies. Our mental health workforce is already under serious pressure.”

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The Royal College of Nursing has previously warned that there are 3,300 fewer posts in mental health nursing, and 1,500 fewer beds, than there were in 2010.
Ms Berger added: “The loss of thousands of nurses and hundreds of doctors has impacted on some of the NHS’s most vulnerable patients in the hospital and in the community, leading to an increase in people experiencing crisis, as well as unnecessary hospital admissions and delayed discharges.”
And she vowed that Labour will reverse the damage done to mental health services under this Tory-led Government”, adding that the party would “invest in an additional 20,000 nurses by 2020, including mental health nurses”.
The new figures on training places come as it emerged that mental health trusts in England have seen their budgets slashed by more than 8% in real terms over the course of this parliament.
The cuts total almost £600million.
Care minister Norman Lamb insisted budgets were “not the full picture”, adding: “Mental health care is given through a range of services including the voluntary sector.”

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Denial: Norman Lamb says it's not all about money

But Prof Sir Simon Wessely, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, warned: “We are being asked to do more with less. We are campaigning and saying that people need to be more open about mental health problems and come forward earlier.
“But when they do, we find ourselves with less resources to treat them and they are getting short-changed.”
Stephen Dalton, chief executive of the Mental Health Network branded the current situation “a car crash.”
And Paul Farmer, chief executive of of mental health charity Mind, said: “The treatment gap for mental health is huge - 75% of people with mental health problems get no help at all.
“Meanwhile, many more are being turned away from services when they need them the most, left to cope alone with self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
“The next government will need to hit the ground running on mental health. We need to see a permanent increase in the NHS mental health budget of at least £1billion if we are to reverse the damage caused by years of neglect and recent cuts.”