PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Mental Health Services: Coronavirus (5 June 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of whether the number of (a) detentions under the Mental Health Act, (b) referrals to NHS community mental health teams and (c) presentations at A&E with a primary recorded psychiatric diagnosis has been affected by the covid-19 pandemic.

Asked by:
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour)

Detentions under the Mental Health Act are measured through the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) published by NHS Digital. NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with NHS Digital and the other arm’s-length bodies to get early access to MHSDS data where possible, to be able to explore trends in activity.

In relation to referrals to National Health Service community mental health teams NHS England are aware that, through analysis of early access to MHSDS data, as well as via feedback from regional teams and providers, there has been a reduction in referrals since the start of the pandemic. To address this issue, NHS England and NHS Improvement have been emphasising that mental health services have remained open during the pandemic, providing a combination of care via digital channels and face to face where needed, and are working to ensure that referral routes, via primary care in particular, are clear.

With regard to accident and emergency attendances for people with mental health needs, NHS England and NHS Improvement are undertaking an analysis of a sample of trusts’ submissions of Emergency Care Data Set data to explore trends.

Answered by:
Ms Nadine Dorries (Conservative)
30 June 2020