Mental Health In-patient Services: Improving Safety

Jackie Doyle-Price Excerpts

Wednesday 28th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

The hon. Gentleman raises an extremely important point, and he is right that a particular downside of out-of-area placements is often the distance from families. Indeed, one can see in the data that there is often a corresponding uptick in issues of harm. The crux of his point is very valid. That is why we are committed to building new facilities, with three new hospitals for mental health announced in the statement I gave on the new hospitals programme; that included three new mental health ambulances. This is also about preventing people from needing in-patient care through our crisis cafés, our earlier intervention in community services and the interplay with 111. More fundamentally, it is about giving greater power to commissioners on a place-based basis. The reforms through integrating health and social care, having fewer targets from the centre and allowing more devolved decision making mean that those areas that want to put more money into in-patient mental health, for example, have greater flexibility to do so. The point the hon. Gentleman raises is extremely important and it is exactly what we are facilitating.

[Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock) (Con)]

As my right hon. Friend observed, a non-statutory inquiry is generally more fleet of foot than a statutory one. It is so disappointing that the failure of staff to engage in that process has brought us to where we are now. That would indicate a very poor culture and sets the tone for how this inquiry will be taken forward. Let me remind him that one reason we are so anxious to get the Mental Health Act reformed is that kind of behaviour towards patients. Too many in-patient settings see patients as an inconvenience to be managed, rather than having their real welfare at heart. Will he therefore redouble his efforts to make progress on this, because many people who have been through the other side want to see that progress?

[Steve Barclay]

First, I do not want to wait for legislation before we make changes. Indeed, under the leadership of Paul Scott, who joined EPUT in 2020, investment has been made, with an extra £20 million being put into the in-patient wards and a further £20 million into community services. We are keen to make further progress on that. On the wider issue of legislation, I know that my hon. Friend, as a former Government Whip, is particularly acquainted with how the legislative process works, but the Government take her comments, and those of the House, on engaging staff in this process seriously, and we are working very actively on that.