‘Indefensible:’ Mental health patients kept unnecessarily in hospitals - watchdog

Findings from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) showed that since the government initiative to reduce the number of hospitalized patients had been implemented in 2012, the number had not fallen but had stabilized at around 3,200.

The decision to transfer patients with mental and behavioral difficulties from hospital centers to community based support systems was sparked by the Winterbourne View abuse scandal in 2011, which uncovered instances of staff psychologically and physically abusing patients.

A Panorama investigation by the BBC into a private hospital in Hambrook, South Gloucestershire, found that in spite of warnings from the Care Quality Commission, the abuse was sustained over a long period of time.

Viewers of the program were confronted with brutal images of staff verbally and physically abusing the patients, and the hospital was closed as a result.

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In the fallout from the scandal, the government committed to discharging patients with learning difficulties and challenging behavior into their homes and communities. However, a lack of community services since the scandal broke has meant more patients remain in hospital.

“Despite the agreed aim that people with learning disabilities should live and receive care in the community, there has been no closure program for large mental health hospitals,” the PAC's report said.

“The availability of places in mental health hospitals has reduced the pressure on local commissioners to revise their commissioning strategies to expand the capacity and capability of local community services.”

The PAC said that NHS England had described its own failings as "indefensible," adding that many patients had been “badly let down.”

The spending watchdog stressed that despite NHS England’s commitments to close large mental hospitals, there had been no closure program in place.

The PAC’s report concluded the current institutional model is “completely inappropriate,” and requires a radical overhaul. The watchdog said is essential to put patients at the forefront of healthcare reforms, and uphold their right to challenge decisions as they see fit.