RCN calls for urgent investment in mental health nursing as A&E crisis deepens
THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING is calling for urgent and sustained investment in the mental health nursing workforce after a UK-wide Freedom of Information (FOI) investigation revealed a sharp rise in the number of people attending emergency departments in mental health crisis.
The findings, published today (May 13), come just days after the Welsh Government released its long-awaited Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy – a document the RCN warns must now be matched with meaningful action and funding.
The FOI responses show a growing number of mental health patients waiting over 12 hours in A&E for appropriate support. Some patients have been forced to wait for up to three days in distress, often without access to specialist care.
In Wales, the RCN says nursing staff are reporting dangerous and inhumane conditions. These include instances of vulnerable patients being monitored by security guards instead of qualified professionals, patients attempting suicide while awaiting treatment, and individuals leaving without receiving any care.
Last month, RCN Wales joined BMA Cymru Wales in launching a petition calling on the Welsh Government to end the use of corridor care in hospitals and guarantee patients are treated with dignity and safety.
RCN Wales warns that chronic underfunding of community mental health services, along with cuts to mental health beds, is placing unsustainable pressure on emergency departments. Without significant investment in specialist community nursing, the college says patients in crisis will continue to be funnelled into emergency departments that are unequipped to meet their needs.
Speaking at the RCN's annual Congress in Liverpool next week, General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger is expected to call for 'urgent, massive and sustained investment in community mental health nursing'. She will also condemn the ongoing cuts to mental health beds as short-sighted and dangerous.
The RCN is demanding:
Improved access to education and training – NHS staff must be supported to access the professional development required for modern, safe care.
– NHS staff must be supported to access the professional development required for modern, safe care. Capital investment in residential care – Many NHS mental health facilities are outdated and in disrepair. Patients deserve safe and therapeutic environments.
– Many NHS mental health facilities are outdated and in disrepair. Patients deserve safe and therapeutic environments. Expansion of nurse staffing legislation – Section 25B of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act should urgently be extended to mental health inpatient services.
Helen Whyley, Director of RCN Wales, said: 'This report is a wake-up call. It is unacceptable that people in mental health crisis are being left for hours – sometimes days – in emergency departments that cannot meet their needs. The Welsh Government says mental health is a priority, but without real investment in mental health nursing, that promise is meaningless. We need urgent action to recruit, retain, and properly resource specialist nurses in our communities. Mental health patients deserve dignity, expertise and timely care – not queues, delays and despair.'
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