An urgent review of services for people with severe mental health issues, such as psychosis and paranoid schizophrenia, has been ordered by NHS England, as concern grows over the number of individuals being let-down by services leading to their involvement in serious incidents.
All Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have been told to “review their community services by Q2 2024/25 to ensure that they have clear policies and practice in place for patients with serious mental illness, who require intensive community treatment and follow-up but where engagement is a challenge.”
NHS England expressed concern that too many patients struggled to access care, which could lead them to harm themselves and/or others. In the accompanying letter Claire Murdoch, NHS England lead for mental health, highlighted that a patient not attending an appointment, DNA (did not attend), should never be used as a reason for discharge from care for this vulnerable patient group.
Full story in The Lowdown, 1 August 2024