People in England who’ve been hospitalised long-term, with complex mental health difficulties, would benefit through intensive psychotherapeutic help closer to home in a less restrictive setting, says new research1 launched in parliament today.
The study commissioned by the Talking Therapies Taskforce2, of which we are a member, found that the most complex 1.5% of people who have been given a diagnosis of personality disorder make up nearly a third of total spend (£920 million annually) - money being spent on hospital care with little benefit to patients.
Better patient outcome and cost less
The researchers compared outcomes from clinical and local authority patient records of almost 30,000 people with these diagnoses, from one rural setting (Devon) and one urban setting (Northwest London).
They found that the most complex 1.8% of people accounted for 32.5% of the total cost in Devon, and 1.1% accounted for 23.9% of the total cost in London.
The study also found that services offering alternatives to long-term hospitalisation with community intensive days and outpatient therapeutic treatments had much better outcomes for patients and cost far less.
Unacceptable human and financial cost
Dr Lisa Morrison Coulthard, our Director of Professional Standards, Policy and Research said:
“We believe the current human and financial cost is totally unacceptable. People with the most complex mental health needs are being lost in a system of inpatient care which manages risk but doesn’t provide the therapy they need to recover_._
“We support the study’s call for a new national strategy for this most vulnerable group of people as an opportunity to improve services and reduce cost in keeping with Government’s stated priorities.
“We also urge the Government to remove barriers to accessing counselling and psychotherapy and support the qualified yet underutilised workforce of counsellors, psychotherapists, and therapeutic coaches to make a greater contribution in meeting the current level of need.”
Read the full report '[Improving support for people with complex mental health difficulties](https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/?post_type=publication&p=6227)'.