CQC 'seriously concerned' about record number of people detained under Mental Health Act

A series of failings in the way mental health services are being commissioned and run is damaging the care of patients detained under the Mental Health Act and undermining their rights, a report by the regulator Care Quality Commission has found.

Record numbers of people are being detained for mental health treatment, prompting concern that conditions for patients are worsening due to understaffing and a lack of hospital beds.

There were 50,408 cases of people being detained for compulsory treatment under the Mental Health Act in England during 2012-13, a 12 per cent rise over the previous five years.

The CQC said in its annual review of mental health ervices, ‘Monitoring the Mental Health Act 2012/13’, that it was a "serious cause for concern" that so many of those admitted informally for care and treatment, mainly in hospitals, were then detained. The CQC also criticised procedures which meant that some patients ended up being detained after being told they were simply going for "a cup of tea", or "for a nice chat", or "to see a doctor."

Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, the mental health charity, said: "As the number of detentions under the Mental Health Act tops 50,000 for the first time, national and local commissioners need to urgently look at the services they provide and ensure they are adequately resourced and able to cope with demand. That more people are becoming so unwell they need to be formally admitted to hospital suggests failings in services that are supposed to help people manage their mental health problems at an earlier stage."

He drew attention to the pressure points in the system that impacted the quality of care, including “increasing bed shortages and staffing difficulties” resulting from cuts to mental health services over two consecutive years. Paul Jenkins, chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness, said: “We’re very concerned that the number of people detained under the Mental Health Act, or placed under community treatment orders, continues to increase. This suggests people aren't getting the support they need to manage their condition in the community and avoid reaching crisis point."

The CQC also criticised the fact that more than three-quarters of wards in mental health hospitals denied patients basic rights by operating blanket rules such as refusing to let them use the internet or a mobile phone, or to smoke, or use secure outdoor spaces and communal spaces.

Such practices, which also included rigid visiting times and no food outside set meal times, had "no basis in law or national guidance on good practice, and are unacceptable", the CQC said.

In addition, the CQC criticised inadequate facilities for those with mental health problems and in a crisis. It said patients were left out of drawing up their own care plans.

Meanwhile, MPs and peers are launching a six-month all-party parliamentary inquiry into whether the Government commitment to give mental health "parity of esteem" with physical health in the NHS is being implemented.