The Care Quality Commission have published this year's State of Care, their annual assessment of the state of health and social care in England.
Responding to the report, Professor Wendy Burn, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “This report confirms our serious concerns about the worsening quality of care in mental health, learning disability and autism inpatient services and we welcome its recommendations.
“It describes a real deterioration in quality of care in inpatient services and we know that workforce issues are a major part of that. Last week our UK-wide workforce census revealed one in 10 consultant psychiatrist roles are unfilled, putting the Government’s ambitious plans for mental health services in jeopardy. We completely agree with the CQC that plans to expand the mental health workforce must be accelerated. This is why we are calling on the Government to double the number of medical school places by 2029 and urging more medical students to choose psychiatry.
“Similarly, following the recent Whorlton Hall scandal, we wrote to the Secretary of State urging him to commission a public inquiry led by a high court judge into the state of the UK’s learning disability and autism services. We must have a thorough understanding of what is repeatedly going wrong and what needs to be put in place to ensure that this vulnerable group of people, some of whom are detained under the Mental Health Act, receive the high standard of care that they deserve.”
For further information, please contact:
- Email: press@rcpsych.ac.uk
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