ENDING OUT OF AREA MENTAL HEALTH PLACEMENTS

That this House notes with concern that 2,119 mental health patients were receiving non-specialist care in hospitals outside of their local area at the end of July 2015, according to data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre; further notes that one in five of those people, 465, had been sent more than 50 kilometres away from their usual provider to receive care; acknowledges that the experience of being sent away from one's local area during an episode of mental ill health, away from family and friends, can cause unacceptable distress to patients; asserts that this practice would not be tolerated in the case of physical health and is further evidence of the systemic disadvantage faced by those suffering mental ill health; commends the Eastern Daily Press for highlighting the issue of out-of-area mental health placements as part of its Mental Health Watch campaign; and calls on the Government to set a target to end the practice of out-of-area mental health placements within 12 months and to set out a plan for achieving that target as a priority.