Psychiatrists struggle to deliver ‘quality of care’ amid staffing pressures

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By Storm Newton, PA Media and Daniel Pye

Psychiatrists are struggling to provide the standard of care patients need amid staffing shortages and increasingly complex cases, a new survey has found.

It comes as patients are placed on “long waiting lists or bounced between different services”, according to the charity Mind.

Its new report calls for fundamental reform, warning that the “current system is unable to provide the quality of care needed”.

The survey of almost 800 NHS mental health professionals, found 34% did not feel able to consistently give the standard of care patients need.

More than four in 10 (42%) said their ability to deliver care has got worse in the last year.

The level and complexity of mental health needs had increased due to a range of socio-economic factors, while the resourcing of services had failed to keep up, concluded the Mind report.

The mental health service is also not sufficiently orientated towards understanding people’s needs and building support around them, it added.