An Observer investigation has identified 56 cases since 2015 in which coroners flagged a lack of staffing or service provision as a concern in mental health-related deaths. Coroners issued Reports to Prevent Future Deaths (PFD) warning that patients faced long waiting lists or fell through gaps in care.
Examples include a woman who died 11 months after being referred to psychotherapy without receiving any treatment, and a man who waited seven months for a psychological assessment. In one case, a coroner wrote that a man who died in December 2019 would not have died had a psychiatric bed been available. Another report warned of a severe shortage of inpatient psychiatric beds for children after the death of a 15-year-old boy in October 2018.
Alison Cobb, senior policy officer at Mind, said: 'It’s shocking that so many should lose their lives because there isn’t enough capacity in mental health services.' Labour’s shadow minister for mental health, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, blamed cuts to mental health beds since 2010, calling the situation 'devastating'.
The investigation also highlights the case of Martin Gibbons, 52, who left hospital after self-harming while waiting for a psychiatric bed. His sister Terri Blair told the Observer a worker had shrugged when asked how long finding a bed would take. Gibbons' body was found five days later.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government is expanding mental health services with £2.3bn a year by 2023-24 and investing £57m in suicide prevention.
