Lord Laming – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laming on 2014-06-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure there are sufficient beds in acute mental health services.

Earl Howe

The Government has made it clear that beds must always be available for those who need them. The 2014-15 Mandate to NHS England states that every community must develop plans to ensure no one in mental health crisis will be turned away. In February 2014 we published the mental health Crisis Care Concordat, which describes the roles and responsibilities for improving outcomes for people experiencing a crisis. This makes it clear that local commissioners should commission a range of mental health services that allows beds to be readily available for people in urgent need. Local areas are expected to commit to and agree to deliver their own ‘Mental Health Crisis Declaration’.