How many more people, do we think, must die before mental health reform in this country gets serious? And by serious, I mean money. I mean staff. By serious, I mean infrastructure. A Guardian investigation has revealed that 271 mental health patients in six years have died owing to failings in NHS care. How high does that number have to rise before we move beyond Instagram posts and politicians’ soundbites? A thousand more deaths? Or perhaps fewer than that, but deaths with louder voices.
These deaths, judged as the result of serious shortcomings when coroners issue a “prevention of future death notice”, are attributed to factors such as not following protocol, treatment delays, medication mistakes and insufficient risk assessments. There are more factors (14 categories in total), and many deaths were attributed to multiple failings. The Guardian’s investigation has been described as shocking. But it isn’t shocking. It is precisely what those on the frontline of mental health services – staff and patients – have been saying, screaming on picket lines, writing on placards, and typing on social media, for years.
Source : theguardian
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