In revealing the shocking figure that 15,000 patients are estimated to have died in a single year while being cared for by stretched community mental health teams, The Independent highlights the lengths the government will need to go to in order to fix the structural issues within the NHS.
It follows our catalogue of reporting about long waiting lists, sexual harassment and assault within the health service – including on mental health wards – and the stress and burnout felt by NHS staff. It all adds up to a desperate cocktail of issues, and the service will require serious reform in terms of how resources are delivered, with both the Conservatives and Labour making clear that there is a limit to how much additional funding can be provided.
And this is an issue for both leading parties. With satisfaction in the NHS having fallen to its lowest level in decades, the Conservatives must now do what they can – such as bringing down waiting times – to ensure that the public receive the service they deserve.
The current polling suggests that Labour will be required to pick up the baton after this year’s general election – and so it is Sir Keir Starmer and his ministers who will really have to dig into these structural issues. They will have to be prepared for that – it will be by no means a simple task.
Reducing the time spent waiting for appointments and treatment is obviously a key part of the work that is needed. It is something the public care deeply about, given that it affects us all. But our story today on the deaths of those being treated by community mental health teams shines a light on the underreported aspects of the health service.
We are revealing the figures, relating to deaths between March 2022 and March 2023, after a concerned insider supplied a secret NHS report to The Independent. Health officials admitted the statistics had been collated for the first time last year in a bid to reduce deaths, but the figures had not been made public.
If the NHS is to get the reform that it needs, then whichever party is in power needs to make sure that all aspects of the health service are getting the attention they require.
If Labour does enter Downing Street later this year, which is looking likely as things stand, then the party will do so following more than a decade of Conservative governments – and that “new broom” effect should allow it the space to look at every aspect of the health service and enact the changes that are needed.
Beyond the more visible faces of the NHS, the party will need to form a plan for areas such as mental health community care. More broadly, Sir Keir should be clear about the areas of the NHS that will need reform, and the plans to get them back on track. There is no doubt that it will take time to implement some of the changes required, but there is a need to guard against problems slipping between the cracks. A commitment to transparency and accountability is the way to stop this from happening.
So many of these areas are linked. Take, for example, Rishi Sunak’s welfare system reforms, devised with the intention of getting people back to work. Having as many people as possible in employment is a laudable aim, but it needs a number of moving parts to come together if it is to be achieved.
Mr Sunak has suggested that some people with mental health conditions who receive personal independence payments (PIP) could be offered treatment instead of cash, but with 1.8 million people waiting for mental health treatment on the NHS, it is clear that such a proposal cannot be effective unless that number is substantially reduced.
The NHS is a cornerstone of our society, and it is up to those in power to ensure that everyone gets the services they need without suffering. Our reporting shows how much of an effort that is going to take.
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