Radical overhaul of mental health inpatient services is needed to reduce trauma

Inpatient mental health services are too often characterised by coercion and restriction. They can be highly triggering environments that risk re-traumatising people, rather than helping them to recover. This is especially the case for out-of-area placements, with patients being sent miles from their homes and support networks to get a hospital bed.

Limited community support leads people struggling with their mental health to be funnelled towards the more acute end of the system. This is causing further distress and higher costs.

In a new report published today, we explore how to reduce trauma in inpatient services, while exploring the alternatives that can enable people to access high-quality mental health care in the community.

“Every time I have been admitted and then released ‘back into the community’, you have to start all over again… You have to pick up the pieces and come to terms and recover from having been in one of the most scariest and traumatic environments ever. Once returned to ‘normal life’ there is a different level of care for patients.”

(Person with lived experience)

Black people, children, and people from the LGBTQ+ community are among the most poorly served by current provision. Autistic people are overrepresented in inpatient settings, and the average length of stay for an autistic person is 5.5 years. Appropriate diagnosis, culturally competent services and person-centred care pathways are key to reducing trauma in inpatient environments.

Exploring the alternatives to hospital-based mental health care

The Government’s goal of shifting treatment “from hospitals to communities” requires comprehensive investment in alternatives to inpatient care, such as crisis cafes and houses, as well as wider use of advance choice documents, peer-led services, and better support with housing, work and money.

The system needs a radical overhaul, with a reorientation to meeting people’s needs far earlier, closer to home, in settings that are therapeutic and accessible.

Our research is carving a path to a mentally healthier future. But we can’t get there without your support.

Help us continue to produce groundbreaking research.

Together we can bring an end to mental health injustice.