Ministers must fix ‘vicious cycle’ of short staffing in NHS mental health care, MPs warn

Government must act to get services out of a ‘doom loop’ which is leading people to quit

There are 1.8 million people on the waiting list for mental health support (iStockphoto)

NHS mental health services are stuck in a “vicious cycle” of short staffing and overwhelming pressures, a parliament committee has warned.

Rising demand for mental health services has “outstripped” the number of staff working within NHS organisations, according to the public accounts committee.

A report from the committee warned that ministers must act to get services out of a “doom loop” in which staff shortages is hitting morale and leading people to quit the already-stretched services.

It found staffing across mental health services has increased by 22 per cent between 2016-17 and 2021-22 while referrals for care have increased by 44 per cent over the same period.

Healthcare leaders warned there are 1.8 million people on the waiting list for NHS mental health care with hospital bosses “deeply concerned”.

The committee also challenged the government over a pledge 12 years ago to reach “parity of esteem”, claiming there is still “no clear definition” of this and what the end goal is.

Rosena Allin-Khan MP, the shadow cabinet minster for mental health, said patients are left waiting for months or years “after more than a decade of Conservative neglect of our public services”.

She added: “The government must address the rising waiting lists and finally put mental health on an equal footing with physical health. Instead, they have scrapped their 10-year mental health plan and put reforming the Mental Health Act on the backburner. While the government drags its feet, patients suffer.”

The NHS launched a trial of new four-week waiting time standards for adult community mental health services and child and adolescent mental health services in 2019.

However, these new standards have yet to be enforced and neither the NHS nor the government have set a date for their implementation.

The PAC has called for the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England to set out within the next six months when they will introduce the new standards.

Dame Meg Hillier MP, chair of the committee, said: “Our report warns of a vicious cycle, in which staff shortages and morale both worsen in self-reinforcing parallel.

“The short-term actions being taken by the government and NHS England to tackle ongoing pressure are welcome. But these numbers are still going in the wrong direction, as demand for care well outpaces the supply of staff to provide it. The government must act to pull services out of this doom loop. Invaluable care for some of our most vulnerable cannot and must not be provided at the expense of the welfare of the workforce carrying it out.”

The warning comes after the government launched a national review of inpatient mental health care, prompted by The Independent’s reporting.

Evidence to the committee claimed there was increased workload and pressure leading to “burnout” of mental health staff.

Figures show that in 2021-22 about 17,000 (12 per cent) mental health staff left the NHS, up from 13,000 in 2020–21.

The number of days lost due to staff being off sick for “psychiatric reasons” has doubled in the last decade, according to the report.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS hospitals said: “With more than 1.8million people on the waiting list for overstretched and understaffed mental health services, trusts are deeply concerned about levels of unmet need, particularly for children and young people... Despite the sector’s best efforts to make progress, too few staff and resources are, as the committee says, holding it back.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “As set out in the report, we have significantly increased the mental health workforce over recent years and remain fully committed to recruiting as well as retaining and re-skilling them to ensure we meet current and future needs.”