NHS failing patients with mental health problems

A new report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has claimed that patients with mental health conditions are being badly let down by the NHS.

Maintaining momentum: driving improvements in mental health care reports that NHS mental healthcare staff can lack the capacity, skills and training they need to do their job effectively, and are let down by not having the support they need to learn from mistakes.

Analysing over 200 mental health complaints, the report highlights a number of cases where the patient has been let down, including a young man dying from a drug overdose after being discharged from the local community mental health service, without a care plan in place, despite having a complex history of mental health problems.

Rob Behrens, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, said: “This report shows the harrowing impact that failings in mental healthcare can have on patients and their families. Too many patients are not being treated with the dignity and respect they deserve and this is further compounded by poor complaint handling.”