BPC co-launches major report highlighting patients with complex mental health needs ‘lost in the system’
The British Psychoanalytic Council joined with several of the UK’s leading counselling and therapy providers and regulators to launch a major report, Improving Support for People with Complex Mental Health Difficulties. The report was drafted by the Centre for Mental Health commissioned by the Talking Therapies Task Force*.
*The Talking Therapy Task Force (TTTF) is a made up of: the BPC, UK Council for Psychotherapy, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, The Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Society for Psychotherapy Research UK Chapter, and the Association for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.
The TTTF launched the report at a bustling event in the Houses of Parliament with Baroness Sheila Hollins, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, and Sojan Joseph, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mental Health. Both talked on the report’s findings that have revealed the human and financial costs of overlooking complex mental health needs within the UK healthcare system.
Some of the report’s key findings include:
- People with complex mental health needs often experience delayed discharges from hospital, high risks and poor clinical outcomes due to transdiagnostic presentations.
- Due to a lack of therapeutic pathways for these people they account for a higher cost, associated with long-term inpatient care. In one NHS Trust, 1.8% of people accounted for 34% of mental health spending. In another, 1.1% of people made up 23% of spending.
- A targeted therapeutic approach significantly reduced inpatient admissions (both locally and out of area), cut emergency service use and improved care quality while reducing costs.
The report makes a clear clinical and economic case for a national programme of intensive therapeutic services to help shift care from hospitals to the community. Both the authors and contributors of the report urged the Government to invest in this proven model to ensure better support for those who need it most.
Commenting at the report launch, Dr Sue Mizen, lead author of the report, said:
“Our study shines a light on the unacceptably poor experiences and outcomes people in this group face. The findings of the study presented here confirm that the financial costs are unsustainable and the human costs unacceptable.”
Following the launch event, further activity in Parliament is planned, the report has already been discussed with Minister for Mental Health, Baroness Merron. It is anticipated that there will be a debate in the House of Commons on the value and insights presented by the report, as well as discussions within the Department for Health and Social Care.
The BPC’s Chief Executive, Greg Ross-Sampson, also commented:
“The study offers major insight into how better, more tailored treatment of people with particular mental health needs can be a solution for all. It proves that greater funding to improve access to therapy will not only help patients resolve long-term mental health conditions but reduce both NHS costs and local hospital waiting lists”.
To read the full report, click here.
To read our press release about the report launch, click here.
