Over £400m pledged to remove dormitories from mental health facilities
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More than £400 million will be committed over the next four years
to eradicate dormitory accommodation from mental health facilities
across the country to improve the safety, privacy and dignity of
patients suffering with mental illness. Today’s pledge by the
government – to mark World Mental Health Day – builds on the £250
million funding announced in July to remove the outdated
dormitories, as part of the government’s record investment in NHS
infrastructure....Request free trial
More than £400 million will be committed over the next four years to eradicate dormitory accommodation from mental health facilities across the country to improve the safety, privacy and dignity of patients suffering with mental illness. Today’s pledge by the government – to mark World Mental Health Day – builds on the £250 million funding announced in July to remove the outdated dormitories, as part of the government’s record investment in NHS infrastructure. Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, also announced the first 21 NHS Trusts that will receive funding to replace out-of-date mental health dormitories with single en-suite rooms, to help improve care for mental health inpatients across the country. The eradication of dormitories will improve the individual care that can be given to patients, allowing them to reduce the length of their stay in the facility. It will also have benefits for patient safety including through better infection control and by reducing the risk of incidents involving patients or staff. This new funding delivers on the government’s commitment to accelerate investment in health infrastructure, and to level up access to mental health services, so that every inpatient can receive treatment in an appropriate setting. Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Mental health staff have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to keep mental health services open 24/7 so those most in need can continue to get vital support. “Today I am reiterating our commitment to those patients by stepping up our effort to improve our country’s mental health infrastructure. By eradicating outdated and unsuitable dormitories across England we can ensure those suffering with mental illness are given the safety, privacy and dignity they deserve. “Not only will the new single rooms improve the individual care we can offer patients, they will provide a better environment for our hardworking staff too.” Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Nadine Dorries said: “The last few months have been challenging for everyone, particularly those with pre-existing mental health conditions. “Every person receiving treatment in a mental health facility deserves to be treated with dignity, respect and privacy, in an appropriate setting.” “I am delighted that today’s investment in mental health infrastructure will ensure that inpatients throughout the country can receive the best quality care.” NHS England's National Mental Health Director Claire Murdoch said: “Millions of mental health patients are seen by the NHS every year, many thousands as inpatients, and each and every one of them should receive care in wards that are therapeutic and support their recovery, which is why this funding will be so vital. “And the NHS is also investing in local mental health teams to provide alternatives to ward admission which will help more than two million patients get care closer to home.” Dr Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “Replacing dormitories with single en suite rooms is a positive step towards the much needed upgrading of mental health wards – even more urgent in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and a second wave. “With this funding, government is taking decisive action to properly support people living with a mental illness. We hope that the necessary investment in other areas of the mental health estate will follow in the upcoming spending review.” This comes alongside wider announcements to mark World Mental Health Day, including £2 million for research into the effects of COVID-19 on mental health. The research will focus on the effects of the pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of three at-risk groups: healthcare workers, children and young people, and those with serious mental health problems. The government has continued to prioritise mental health throughout the pandemic. Mental health charities, including Mind and BEAT, have benefitted from £9.2 million in funding since March to enable them to provide vital support to those who need it most. This funding has been used to support helplines and webchats, providing support networks for people experiencing anxiety and loneliness, providing safe spaces to reduce the risk of social exclusion of vulnerable people with ongoing, complex mental health problems, and move specialist emotional and practical support for victims of sexual violence from face-to-face online. The government has also invested £5m in national loneliness charities, raising awareness and providing advice through the Let’s Talk Loneliness campaign, and a new Tackling Loneliness Network, to support the wellbeing of those struggling with social isolation over the pandemic. This commitment to transforming and improving mental health services is set to continue, as the Department for Health and Social Care has pledged to invest £2.3 billion in mental health by 2023/24 as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. - ENDS - Notes to editors: LIST OF PROJECTS
The precise amount to be invested in this programme will be announced at the Spending Review later this year UKRI/NIHR funding This latest group of UKRI/NIHR research funding forms part of a rolling call for research proposals on COVID-19, jointly funded by UKRI and the NIHR in response to the pandemic, and includes research on treatments, vaccines and the spread of the virus. Mental Health Research Projects details:
This project will seek to understand and mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the psychological health and wellbeing of NHS staff in England. There have been several surveys reporting negative effects of the pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers, but large-scale population-based studies are needed to confirm these effects and to what extent they persist. The researchers plan to achieve this by working with 18 NHS trusts across England to collate data on a mass scale and evaluate national and local staff support schemes. They will use a combination of online questionnaires developed alongside healthcare staff, and work with a smaller group of participants to conduct more detailed interviews. Their health and wellbeing will be assessed at regular intervals across the next 12 months. The aim of the project is to identify those most at risk and in need of tailored support. The project will rely heavily on patient and public involvement, and each trust will work with a partner with a background in equality and diversity to ensure strong representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic healthcare workers.
This project will consider how ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status influence the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people’s mental health. All young people are affected to some extent by the pandemic and related social restrictions, but people in low-income households, in black and minority ethnic groups, or with pre-existing mental health problems are especially vulnerable. These researchers will work with a socially and ethnically diverse group of around 2,000 young people aged 14-17 who have been previously recruited for theResilience, Ethnicity, and AdolesCent Mental Health (REACH) research project. The researchers aim to understand which groups of young people are most likely to experience emotional distress resulting from COVID-19 pandemic, and why. These findings will be used to identify factors that could protect at-risk young people from poor mental health and develop new approaches to prevent mental health problems in disadvantaged and vulnerable young people.
This study will evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and public health measures on adolescent mental health and wellbeing. School closures and social distancing during the pandemic may change the behaviour of young people, with increasing screen-time, decreased opportunities for social and physical activity, and loss of opportunities to socialise with friends. This research will work with around 5,000 London teenagers aged 15-17 years who are taking part in the Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP), which has been collecting comprehensive data on young people’s mental health, brain function, use of digital technology and behaviour since 2014. The new research will investigate risk factors for mental health problems due to COVID-19 restrictions - including whether changes in use of digital technology during the pandemic have had an impact on adolescent mental health - and explore what factors promote resilience to mental health problems.
This research will evaluate an online therapy programme for children with anxiety problems, to see if it is an effective remote alternative to existing mental health treatment services and could help treat anxiety problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) face major challenges in delivering psychological treatments remotely. Furthermore professionals will need to access increasingly efficient treatments if referrals to mental health services increase as expected now social distancing measures have been relaxed and schools reopened. This research will evaluate a therapist-supported, online cognitive behaviour therapy with more than 500 children with anxiety aged 5-12 years and their parents and carers. The study will compare the online programme with current CAMHS provision to see if it is as effective and could save money.
This project hopes to minimise the risks of suicide and early death that could have increased for some vulnerable groups during the pandemic. Previous evidence has shown a strong link between rates of self-harm and the risk of suicide. This project will assess self-harm rates, GP referrals for mental health treatment and the risks of suicide and early death before, during and after the first Covid-19 peak. The pandemic has affected people differently so the team will examine differences by age, gender, ethnicity, existing mental or physical illness and social deprivation. They will use patient data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), which contains over 11 million anonymised medical records from general practitioners and is funded by the NIHR. The findings will be shared rapidly and provide essential evidence for informing suicide prevention strategies.
The Optimising Wellbeing during Self-isolation (OWLS) study will explore how people with severe mental ill health (SMI) experience the social restrictions placed on them by the pandemic. People with SMI are at greater risk of being affected by limited social interactions. The team leading the project are in a unique position to assess the impact of the pandemic on this group as they have previously assembled a research-ready cohort of over 10,000 people with SMI. The participants in this group will be followed for the next 12 months to track their access to health services, their use of the internet, and their contact with friends. The results of the study will be used to make recommendations about how best to support people with severe mental illness during a pandemic. |