New research shows that people are facing wait times of up to three days at A&E for mental health emergencies, with 216,182 people seeking treatment for mental health emergencies last year. According to new research released by the Royal College of Nursing following a Freedom of Information request, the report included alarming details of how these delays led to patients leaving hospitals and trying to end their own lives.
Steve Howey, who runs Heard Today Counselling in West Yorkshire, voiced his concerns about the conditions of people forced to wait, saying, “We know that sometimes hospitals aren’t always a restful environment, and I think sleep is such a massive part of our mental health and being safe and secure, if you’re not on a designated ward and just sat in A&E or being shifted around to different departments, it compounds an already stressful situation, and everyone will see you at your most vulnerable state.”
“The wait times for the NHS in general for mental health services are so poor that it is driving people to private counselling. I am seeing people who are saying I just couldn’t wait for it to move forward in the NHS,” Steve continued.
As part of the report, The Royal College of Nursing’s findings also showed that there are 4,000 less beds than there were just over a decade ago in mental health units, along with damning statistics that the recruitment of mental health nurses has lagged far behind the rise in demand. The report noted that security guards had to be drafted in to look after patients due to the lack of specialist mental health nurses. Available nurses were overworked and found it difficult to treat all patients.
Steve further offered insight into why he thinks the number of people attending A&E is so high, saying, “People are just getting pushed too far I think, I think there’s a lot of explanations for that, we are all collectively under more stress with things like the cost of living crisis, we are all struggling and lots of people are not feeling supported”.
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