Review ordered into county's mental health services

A council has approved a review into mental health services over concerns there are not enough secure psychiatric beds available to meet demand.

Oxfordshire County Council made the decision at a meeting of full council, voting unanimously to investigate the level of mental health support available.

During the meeting, leader of the Labour group Liz Brighouse spoke of people from her community being in crisis, but being turned away from Oxford's main mental health hospital.

A spokesperson for Oxford Health, the main provider of mental health services in the county, said it appreciated "the opportunity to engage with councillors" to discuss the issues raised.

At the meeting, a petition was handed to the council by former mental health nurse, Becky Howard, supporting a review into mental health services.

It followed an incident, witnessed by Howard, where a man experiencing a severe mental health episode attacked members of her community.

She said: "It was very frightening, probably for him as well as for everybody who was there.

"The really unfortunate thing was that he had been in this schizophrenic crisis probably for the whole week prior.

"The police had been called to see him... and an ambulance... but unfortunately they hadn't been able to find a secure bed for him."

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed it has 11 male psychiatric intensive care beds available at any one time.

There are no dedicated secure beds for women, but the trust works with partners to find availability if they are needed.

In addition, there are 70 beds for less severe cases, as well as 31 dedicated beds for older adults, aged 65 and older.

It also provides services including Keystone community mental health and wellbeing hubs, police "street" triage teams and hospital-based "places of safety" at the John Radcliffe and Horton General.

The trust has also submitted plans for Oxfordshire's main mental health hospital, Warneford Park, to undergo a £750m redevelopment.

Should they be approved, the trust said the site would be completely transformed into a "major mental health campus", including a research and development hub, backed by the University of Oxford.

Improvements to healthcare facilities would also be made, with Oxford Health confirming there would be "a slight increase" in beds as a result of the redevelopment.

But Brighouse said this was not enough to serve the community.

Describing the mental health system in Oxfordshire as "in crisis", Brighouse said the development of Warneford Park was "an opportunity to make sure we have the crisis beds that we desperately need".

"We need a lot more resource in Oxfordshire," she said.

"I have seen a lot of people who have put their own lives or the lives of others at risk. The mental health service that they needed hadn't been available to them."

A spokesperson for Oxford Health said: "We provide a comprehensive range of mental health services and support across Oxford and Oxfordshire.

"This means that we can individually tailor support appropriately to the needs of individuals and also that people experiencing mental health issues can seek help.

"Our services operate round the clock and are run by committed and experienced professionals."

The trust also said it worked closely with partner organisations, including Oxfordshire County Council, Thames Valley Police, South Central Ambulance Service and Oxford University Hospitals, "to discuss issues, share data and agree best practice to continually improve the response to people in crisis."

The county's joint health overview scrutiny committee will now investigate areas, including accessibility to prevention services, medication and inpatient beds, as well as how public services - like the police and fire service - are being impacted by attending people experiencing a severe mental health episode.