The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health has warned that hospital mental health services are in 'a cycle of decline' with increased user dissatisfaction and loss of quality staff.
The centre warns the situation in acute care is close to crisis and some patients are being denied basic human rights.
A new briefing, 'Adult Acute Inpatient Care Provision for People with Mental Health Problems', was published in response to government guidance on acute mental health provision issued last month.
The briefing calls for more targeted resources to recruit more staff and train existing ones, and the introduction of clear quality standards for trusts to follow.
Andrew McCulloch, the centre's policy director, said: "Inpatient mental health care has become a neglected backwater in policy and profile terms, without clear plans and targets of the type developed for other parts of the mental health care system."
Other recommendations contained in the briefing include a strategy for a more therapeutic approach, and more capital investment to ensure buildings are refurbished.
For a full copy of the report go to www.scmh.org.uk
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