‘Care needs are not adequately met’

‘Care needs are not adequately met’ People detained under the
Mental Health Act 1983 are not having their care needs adequately
assessed when they leave hospital, according to a report.

A third of nearly 300 people who had been detained twice during a
three-year period did not have a copy of their previous discharge
plan in their in-patient notes, the study finds.

Only a quarter were involved in writing their care plan and less
than half of plans included anything about the person’s cultural,
physical health, vocational or financial needs.

The study, by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health and the Mental
Health Act Commission, finds that a fifth of people discharged were
readmitted within 90 days.

Meanwhile, a Department of Health report shows that investment in
mental health services increased by 7 per cent in real terms from
2003-4 to 2004-5.