Following the news that the NHS will be opening mental health crisis centres across England over the next 10 years, statistics have revealed the scale of the issue in Watford.
Submitted by WATFORDnews, a Freedom of Information request shows 5,321 people attended Watford General Hospital’s (WGH) A&E in 2024 where their chief complaint was related to mental health. Of these, 923 were under 18, and 4,398 were 18 or over.
This means that the A&E department saw an average of 14 mental health patients a day throughout the year.
Those aged over 18 spent a total of 39,501 hours in A&E, while those under 18 spent a total of 4,312 hours in A&E.
It is hoped that the opening of NHS mental health crisis centres across England will reduce crowding in A&E departments and relieve pressure on emergency services.
However, concerns have been raised about finding staff for the new centres. The Royal College of Psychiatrists states that the number of mental health nurses per every 10,000 mental health patients in England has nearly halved in the last decade.
Calls are also being made for a greater focus on earlier intervention via community services, to prevent people from reaching crisis point.
Alexa Knight, Director of England at the Mental Health Foundation, said: “The frequency of people attending A&E experiencing a mental health crisis shows that not enough people are receiving support at the best time – early in their journey.”
A spokesperson for West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We welcome the opening of mental health crisis centres to accommodate the growing number of mental health patients who attend emergency departments in crisis.
“In spite of the increasing numbers of patients, we continue to make positive progress in the care we provide to mental health patients at WGH.
“Our mental health matron leads a seven-strong enhanced care team of nurses and support workers who provide specialist one-to-one care to patients in crisis. Specialist trained security staff support the team, and we also have two enhanced care rooms on site which provide a safe space for patients.
“We work closely with our partners across the health system to get the right support for patients in crisis. This includes collaborating with the liaison teams from Herts Partnership Foundation NHS Trust – the mental health trust in Hertfordshire.”
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