Millions of mental health patients ‘facing NHS delays or missing out’

Millions of people with mental health problems, including children with eating disorders, are missing out on NHS treatment or face lengthy waits, the National Audit Office has said. The NAO said current mental health services are under “continued and increasing pressure”, with many people using them also reporting poor experiences. The watchdog noted the Covid pandemic had disrupted NHS performance, adding: “During April–June 2022, 68% of children and young people who were urgently referred to eating disorder services were seen within a week, against a standard of 95%.” Overstretched mental health services are under huge pressure, doing all they can to provide the best possible care in the face of ever-growing demand Saffron Cordery, NHS Providers In conclusion, the NAO warned that plans to expand services “still leave a sizeable gap between the number of people with mental health conditions and how many people the NHS can treat.” Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “With demand for mental health services having increased since the pandemic and being expected to increase further in the coming years, it is vital that DHSC and NHSE define what is required to meet the growing demand.” NHS Providers’ deputy chief executive, Saffron Cordery, said “overstretched mental health services are under huge pressure”, adding: “We need long-term, sustainable investment and support for services, and the mental health workforce that is essential to delivering high-quality care, in order to continue to improve access to mental health care. “More than 70% of NHS trusts said last autumn that they had seen more people coming to them due to stress, debt and poverty.” An NHS spokesman said: “The NHS has transformed mental health services over the past few years and, as acknowledged in this report, the NHS is providing mental health support to more people than ever before with over 4.5 million accessing care last year backed by the largest mental health workforce in NHS history. “A record 674,485 young people accessed NHS care last year, up nearly a third compared to the start of the NHS Long Term Plan, including 12,457 young people accessing eating disorder treatments, up 55% compared to pre-pandemic, so anybody needing care should come forward for support.” A Department for Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “We are increasing investment in mental health services by over £2 billion a year by 2024, and delivering 27,000 more mental health professionals, so two million more people will be able to get the mental health support they need.