Latest news with #DepartmentofHealthandSocialCare
New Statesman
2 hours ago
- Business
- New Statesman
Labour promised to fix the NHS but seems set on breaking it even more
Illustration by Charlotte Trounce When NHS Providers – the membership organisation that represents NHS trusts – starts using language like 'unthinkable', it's time to sit up and take note. They chose the term in early May to characterise the scale of the cuts being forced upon NHS managers by Wes Streeting's Department of Health and Social Care. Using evidence gathered from 114 trusts – more than half the total number in England – NHS Providers revealed the 'eye-watering' array of local services that face being scaled back or completely shut down: diabetes care for young people, rehabilitation centres, talking therapies, even – incredibly – palliative care beds. Meanwhile, nearly every trust surveyed said they were planning to cut – or had already begun cutting – up to 1,500 posts each to save money. Crucially, these include clinical roles such as doctors and nurses. How have we arrived at this brave new world in which the route to 'an NHS fit for the future… with world-class care for the many, not just the few' (Streeting at last year's party conference) is through slashing clinical services upon which the health, well-being and dignity of patients so manifestly depend? The role of Jim Mackey, Streeting's choice to lead the NHS in England, is key. In March, Mackey ordered trusts to comply with a 'financial reset' – code for unprecedented budget savings during 2025-26 to avoid a projected £6.6bn NHS deficit in England. The government, like its Conservative predecessors, insisted cuts required could occur harmlessly, through 'efficiency savings' alone. Needless to say, savings of up to 12 per cent of entire trusts' budgets cannot possibly be achieved without cutting services. Perhaps Mackey and Streeting hoped that so long as they had a target-driven story to tell the press about falling waiting lists, no one would care very much about the less headline-grabbing forms of NHS care such as rehabilitation after serious injuries or humane deathbed care. It is no coincidence that services for people with disabilities, mental health conditions and terminal illnesses are on the line; certain patients have long been deprioritised by those in power. As one anonymous finance director told NHS Providers: 'Health inequalities [are] a real issue when streamlining services. We need investment to reach the most vulnerable and excluded populations, not disinvestment.' What happens now? In a speech at the Medical Journalists' Association on 9 May, Mackey gave short shrift to the prospect of additional funding: the government, he said, was 'maxed out on what's affordable'. Meanwhile, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson doubled down on the fiction that reducing red tape could square the circle: 'We have underlined the need for trusts to cut bureaucracy to invest even further in the front line.' Easy for them to say. Less so for the doctor forced to have deathbed conversations with patients on trolleys in corridors (me, with increasing frequency these days). From a patient perspective, the impasse is painfully familiar. In his conference speech, Streeting rightly slammed 14 years of underinvestment as a legacy of 'Conservative neglect'. He explicitly stated, the day after the general election, that: 'The policy of this department is that the NHS is broken.' For NHS staff, this radical candour was more than a relief – it felt exhilarating. At last, it seemed, we had a health secretary willing to be honest about the scale of the task required to rebuild an NHS to be proud of. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Less than one year later, Streeting appears to be the first Labour health secretary willing to countenance the cutting back of end-of-life care on his watch. For me – a palliative care doctor who entered my specialty precisely to advocate for the patients that so many in power overlook – the only thing that's 'maxed out' right now is incredulity and disgust. Rachel Clarke's 'The Story of a Heart' has been shortlisted for this year's Women's Prize for Non-Fiction [See also: The public doesn't like Brexit. Has anyone told the media?] Related
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cash boost for South West hospitals
Hospitals in Devon and Cornwall have been given more than £22m for vital repairs, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed. It comes as part of the £750m announced for the NHS in England in the autumn budget. Devon's hospitals have been given more than £15m for improvements, while Cornish hospitals will benefit from more than £8m. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the government was "on a mission" to rebuild the NHS through investment and modernisation. Among the hospitals receiving funding were three of the largest in both counties - the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (RD&E) in Exeter, Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, and the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro. Derriford Hospital has been given £1,815,000 for improvements to ventilation equipment in the neonatal unit. Ashley Dalton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention, during a visit to Derriford Hospital, said the new system would improve environmental conditions for babies receiving specialist care. Elsewhere in Devon, RD&E and North Devon District Hospital, managed by the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, have been jointly allocated £5,412,000 for improvements to ventilation systems, and fire safety works. Various healthcare units, managed by the Devon Partnership NHS Trust, have been given £300,000 for improvements to energy systems. In Cornwall, the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro has been given £4,379,000 for improvements to energy, electrical, and water systems. The Department for Health and Social Care also announced £3.9m for Bodmin Hospital, to improve fire safety. The Department of Health and Social Care said fixing the "backlog of maintenance" at NHS hospitals would help to prevent cancellations. It said services were disrupted more than 4,000 times across England in 2023 and 2024 due to issues with poor quality buildings. Mr Streeting said: "A decade and a half of underinvestment left hospitals crumbling, with burst pipes flooding emergency departments, faulty electrical systems shutting down operating theatres, and mothers giving birth in outdated facilities that lack basic dignity." He said patients and staff deserved to be in buildings which were "safe, comfortable, and fit for purpose." Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Views sought to improve local NHS services Trust awarded £3.5m to establish research centre Department of Health and Social Care
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Our honeymoon money paid for my husband's funeral'
Two young widows who lost their husbands to heart conditions have launched a podcast about their experiences. Laura Burr, 31, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, and Gabby Evans, 32, from Burnley, have previously campaigned to lower the age of NHS health checks. Mrs Burr, whose husband died six months after their wedding, said the weekly podcast would deal with "raw emotions and real lives". She told the first episode: "I literally had to spend the money me and Ed had earmarked for a honeymoon on his funeral." Her husband fell ill on the day after their wedding in April 2024 and was diagnosed shortly afterwards with dilated cardiomyopathy, which inhibits blood circulation. He died in October at the age of 32 while waiting for a heart transplant. Ms Evans' partner Tom Brakewell, who was 34, died suddenly at home in January 2025 with an undiagnosed heart condition. The widows, who have never met in person, previously joined forces to launch an online petition to lower the age - currently 40 - at which the NHS starts to invite patients for full health screening. Mrs Burr said: "I fully believe if health checks were mandatory and Edward had gone for a health MOT between 25 and 30 his heart issue would have been flagged and he would still be here." The pair released The Podcast That Shouldn't Exist on Wednesday. In the first episode, Mrs Burr told how she walked down the aisle at the wedding and the funeral to the same music, from her husband's favourite film series Lord Of The Rings. Ms Evans described her fantasy that her partner would leap up and "jump scare" her at the chapel of rest. The pair said the podcast was "a space we never asked to create about a club no-one wants to join". In response to the widows' campaign, the Department of Health and Social Care said: "Our deepest sympathies are with the families of Edward and Tom. "The NHS's life-saving health checks are targeted towards those at higher risk, preventing around 500 heart attacks and strokes every year and stopping people developing a range of diseases. "To increase availability and uptake of the checks, we are developing a new online service that eligible people can use at home to understand their risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Widow calls for health checks for younger people Plan for workplace health checks to curb heart disease GPs given freedom to order heart checks direct
Scottish Sun
26-05-2025
- Health
- Scottish Sun
I was caged like an animal, made to eat with my hands on the floor and sexually assaulted after a GP appointment
The depressed mum-of-one's visit to the doctor sparked a hideous chain of events MUM'S HELL I was caged like an animal, made to eat with my hands on the floor and sexually assaulted after a GP appointment Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WHEN teacher Alexis Quinn reached out to her GP for support, she never imagined it would be the worst decision of her life. The single mother, then 27, had suffered a breakdown following the tragic death of her younger brother, Josh, in December 2012. 6 Alexis Quinn was sectioned after displaying signs of depression Credit: Alexis Quinn 6 The single mother with her daughter, now 13 Credit: Alexis Quinn She expected to discuss therapy or perhaps going on anti-depressants, but instead, the teacher was detained under the Mental Health Act. She ended up being held in 12 psychiatric units across the UK for more than three and a half years, feeling 'trapped and caged like an animal'. She says she endured multiple sexual assaults, regular solitary confinement - once for 28 consecutive days - and frequent physical restraints. Alexis says she was misunderstood - in fact she had undiagnosed autism and struggled with major life changes. Fearing a lifetime inside an institution, Alexis escaped hospital with the help of two friends who drove her to Dover, Kent. From there, she managed to reach Africa, where she spent five years rebuilding her life before finally returning home. Today, Alexis, 40, lives in Kent with her two neurodivergent children - a 13-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. She's an autism advocate and helps advise the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Care Quality Commission (CQC). But the scars remain. She tells Sun Health: 'The thing that sticks the most is just the dehumanisation of you, like you're just a piece of s***. Simple 10-question test that can help determine if you have autism 'It's the feeling that you're so worthless; that you're an animal that can just be locked in a room without a toilet or a shower, and you can sit and eat with your hands. That felt so monstrous. 'I lost nine years of my life - four incarcerated and five rebuilding my life back up abroad. 'I can't get those years back - years that I could have been spending with my daughter and building my career. 'I still constantly feel under threat that I could have my freedom taken away again because the systems that meant I could be detained for so long haven't changed. 'In fact, more autistic people are unnecessarily detained now than when I was.' The latest NHS data shows that 1,435 autistic people remained "locked away" in mental health hospitals in England in March 2025. That's 55 more than in March 2024, and a 136 per cent rise since 2015. Mel Merritt, head of policy and campaigns at the National Autistic Society, says: "Currently autistic people are deprived of their basic liberties in mental health hospitals, where they often face abuse, overmedication, and unnecessary restraint and the average stay is nearly five years. "The only way to end the human rights scandal is to have a proper Government plan." The 2019 NHS Long Term Plan introduced a target to halve the number of autistic people and those with a learning disability in mental health hospitals from March 2015, but this was missed. The NHS Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance for 2025/26 introduced a new target of a 10 per cent minimum reduction. Tragic loss sent Alexis spiralling Alexis' trauma began shortly after returning from five years of teaching in Asia. The Edinburgh University graduate had just started a new job at a grammar school teaching PE, moved back in with her parents, and was caring for her newborn daughter. The baby's father remained in Asia and was not involved. Already overwhelmed, her brother Josh's sudden and heartbreaking death sent her spiralling. As a child, Alexis would often fixate on details - a feature of her undiagnosed autism - which made her an A-grade student and a stellar swimmer who represented Great Britain at international level as a teenager. Now, though, she had become fixated on death. She says: 'I was really interested in how my brother died; how his body shut down, what happened, why it happened.' A few weeks after Josh's death, her GP referred her to a mental health team, which, concerned for her wellbeing, suggested she take a 72-hour respite stay at St Martin's Hospital in Canterbury, to which Alexis agreed. Within hours of arriving, however, she realised something was terribly wrong. They restrained me, pulled my pants down, injected me with sedatives, and left me locked up on Christmas Day Alexis Quinn Alexis, author of UNbroken, Autistic and Expecting, and Improving Mental Health Therapies for Autistic Children and Young People, says: 'The noise of the unit, the busyness, the irate family members - it was overwhelming. 'There was a lot of violence, and I was watching people's distress, but feeling the very same distress myself. 'I entered this cycle of sensory overload and meltdowns.' Autistic meltdowns are extreme sensory and emotional reactions to stressful environments. But because her autism was undiagnosed, Alexis' behaviours were interpreted as dangerous. Staff responded with restraint, sedation, and seclusion. These practices are supposed to be a last resort, but figures released to the Liberal Democrats under the Freedom of Information Act in 2017 suggest they are widespread, with mental health trusts in England restraining patients every 10 minutes, on average. In just one year, patients across 40 trusts were restrained 59,808 times, compared to 46,499 three years earlier (2013-14). 'On Friday, I was teaching in a grammar school. By Monday, I was being told I'm somewhere I'm not allowed to leave,' Alexis says. 'I was like, 'f***ing open the door. This isn't what I signed up for'. 'I equated hospital with care and support. I didn't equate hospital with a complete loss of freedom. 'I'd lost my liberty and I hadn't committed a crime.' 6 After three and a half years 'trapped and caged like an animal' she escaped to Lagos, Nigeria Credit: Alexis Quinn 6 Alexis says she was made to sleep on a thin mattress on the floor (pictured) in solitary confinement for 28 days Credit: Alexis Quinn Alexis was officially sectioned under the Mental Health Act - meaning she was deemed a danger to herself or others and required treatment, whether she agreed or not. She entered a traumatic cycle: overload, meltdown, forced restraint, powerful sedatives, and long-term segregation. Alexis was moved between psychiatric hospitals throughout England, often placed in mixed-sex units. On Christmas Eve 2013, already low at the thought of not being with her daughter, who was with Alexis' mother, she says she was assaulted by a male patient at Littlebrook Hospital in Dartford, after being lured down a corridor. She says: 'He pressed me up against the door and he lifted my top up, and he started to touch me on my breasts. 'He then sort of pulled my trousers down, and all I could hear was his breathing, and everything was slow and really loud. 'I remember not being able to move, and being stuck. I don't know what exactly happened in my mind, but at some point I just pushed him away.' When she reported the assault, she suffered another meltdown and was placed in solitary confinement. 'They restrained me, pulled my pants down, injected me with sedatives, and left me locked in the room on Christmas Day,' Alexis says. 'It was just me.' The key characteristics of autism - and why they go unnoticed By Alice Fuller, Health Features Editor MODEL Christine McGuinness was a 'recluse' for eight years and only left the house at 3am. Springwatch presenter Chris Packham says it makes him a 'task-centric workaholic who sees problems in everything he does'. And recently, Bella Ramsey revealed they were diagnosed after struggling to wear thermals on the set of The Last of Us. But what exactly is autism and why does it seem so different in everyone? Leanne Cooper-Brown, neurodevelopmental lead at Clinical Partners, tells Sun Health: 'Autism is considered a spectrum, so not all people share the same traits. 'Whereas we used to think of autism as a linear line, we have come to realise that terms such as 'high' and 'low' functioning or definitions of 'mild', 'moderate' or 'severe' aren't helpful and can be misleading. 'Nowadays, we think of autism in terms of the strengths and needs of the individual, which can change over time depending on their environment and support network.' About 700,000 people in the UK are thought to have autism - that's one in 100. But research by University College London suggests that number could be twice as high, as many people remain undiagnosed. Cases are on the rise though. Figures released last year showed a 175 per cent increase from 2011 to 2022. Dr Selina Warlow, clinical psychologist and owner of The Nook Neurodevelopmental Clinic, says: 'Conversation around neurodiversity is becoming normalised, and that's so positive to see. But more awareness is needed. 'Receiving a diagnosis can open access to expert resources that support autistic people to thrive in society.' Autism has long been associated with social difficulties, like problems maintaining conversations and forming relationships. But research published in the journal Cell Press suggested that repetitive behaviours - like rocking or finger-flicking - and special interests - whether it's TV shows or specific animals - are more indicative of an autism diagnosis. Generally though, experts say the core characteristics include… Sensitivity - autistic people can be much more or less sensitive to sights, sounds, textures, tastes and smells. For example, they find bright lights or crowded spaces overwhelming, Leanne says. They may also stand too close to others or need to move their whole body to look at something. - autistic people can be much more or less sensitive to sights, sounds, textures, tastes and smells. For example, they find bright lights or crowded spaces overwhelming, Leanne says. They may also stand too close to others or need to move their whole body to look at something. Stimming - to manage this sensory overload, some people use repetitive movements or sounds. 'This is called stimming, and includes rocking, tapping and hand-flapping,' Dr Warlow says. 'Though it's something everyone does to some extent, those with autism are likely to engage with it as a form of self-regulation.' - to manage this sensory overload, some people use repetitive movements or sounds. 'This is called stimming, and includes rocking, tapping and hand-flapping,' Dr Warlow says. 'Though it's something everyone does to some extent, those with autism are likely to engage with it as a form of self-regulation.' Masking - this is a strategy used by some autistic people, consciously or not, to match neurotypical people, Dr Warlow says. 'It's a way of hiding your true characteristics, and could involve copying facial expressions, planning conversations in advance, or holding in 'stimming' - swapping hand clapping with playing with a pen, for example,' she adds. - this is a strategy used by some autistic people, consciously or not, to match neurotypical people, Dr Warlow says. 'It's a way of hiding your true characteristics, and could involve copying facial expressions, planning conversations in advance, or holding in 'stimming' - swapping hand clapping with playing with a pen, for example,' she adds. Burnout - this is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion and is a common feature in autism. 'Being extremely tired, both mentally and physically, can be associated with the act of masking for a long period of time, or sensory or social overload,' Dr Warlow says. 'Symptoms of autistic burnout include social withdrawal, reduced performance and increased sensitivity.' - this is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion and is a common feature in autism. 'Being extremely tired, both mentally and physically, can be associated with the act of masking for a long period of time, or sensory or social overload,' Dr Warlow says. 'Symptoms of autistic burnout include social withdrawal, reduced performance and increased sensitivity.' Social struggles - socialising can be confusing or tiring for autistic people. They often find it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling, making it challenging to make friends. Leanne says: 'In adults, autism may present as difficulties with interpreting social cues such as understanding body language or sarcasm, struggling to express emotions or preferring to be alone. This can impact relationships and work.' - socialising can be confusing or tiring for autistic people. They often find it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling, making it challenging to make friends. Leanne says: 'In adults, autism may present as difficulties with interpreting social cues such as understanding body language or sarcasm, struggling to express emotions or preferring to be alone. This can impact relationships and work.' Routine - many of us have a fairly regular daily schedule. But for autistic people, this becomes a 'very strong preference for routine', Leanne says. This could be needing a daily timetable to know what is going to happen and when, or having rigid preferences about foods or clothing. - many of us have a fairly regular daily schedule. But for autistic people, this becomes a 'very strong preference for routine', Leanne says. This could be needing a daily timetable to know what is going to happen and when, or having rigid preferences about foods or clothing. Literal thinking - some autistic people have a literal view of language - like believing it's actually 'raining cats and dogs' or that someone really wants you to 'break a leg'. Dr Warlow says: 'This can result in confusion with figures of speech, irony or indirect requests. 'For instance, being told to 'pull your socks up' might be understood literally, not as a motivational phrase.' - some autistic people have a literal view of language - like believing it's actually 'raining cats and dogs' or that someone really wants you to 'break a leg'. Dr Warlow says: 'This can result in confusion with figures of speech, irony or indirect requests. 'For instance, being told to 'pull your socks up' might be understood literally, not as a motivational phrase.' Hyperfocus - often associated with ADHD, hyperfocusing is also common in autistic people. 'It's where you're able to focus intensely on an activity and become absorbed to the point of forgetting about time,' Dr Warlow says. 'This is useful in work or hobbies but can result in neglect of other aspects of life, such as food or rest.' - often associated with ADHD, hyperfocusing is also common in autistic people. 'It's where you're able to focus intensely on an activity and become absorbed to the point of forgetting about time,' Dr Warlow says. 'This is useful in work or hobbies but can result in neglect of other aspects of life, such as food or rest.' Special interests - we all have hobbies and interests, but for autistic people, these are so compelling they often want to spend all their time learning about, thinking about or doing them. 'Special interests could include anything from dinosaurs to superheroes, and gardening to music,' Dr Warlow says. 'These usually begin in childhood, but can also form as an adult. 'Chris Packham is an example of an autistic person who turned his childhood special interest in animals into a successful career, becoming one of the UK's best-loved natural world TV presenters.' A second assault occurred months later, back at St Martin's, when a male patient groped her in a treatment room. Her mother Linda, a former police officer, filed formal complaints with the Kent and Medway NHS Trust. Both were investigated, and the Trust issued an apology, but no further action was taken. After that, Alexis experienced more sexual assaults. She says: 'It happened a dozen or so times, but I didn't report them because the first two were completely dismissed and actually made my life worse. 'It was put on my record that I was liable to make allegations - even though the police had investigated.' It wasn't until Alexis was transferred to a specialist unit in York in 2014 that a doctor recognised her behaviour for what it was. 'She said, 'Alexis, you're not sick - you're autistic',' Alexis remembers. 'It was liberating. From that moment on, some of the treatment got better. 'People weren't blaming me for my behaviour - they were trying to understand.' 'It was the worst time of my life' She was moved to Milton Park Therapeutic Campus in Bedfordshire - an assessment and treatment unit (ATU) for people with autism and learning disabilities. But what should have been a turning point became her darkest period. She had hoped things would be different with her new diagnosis but within hours of admission, her phone was taken away from her. Feeling trapped once more, Alexis left the unit but was chased down by police. That same day, she was detained and put in solitary confinement for eight days. 'It was the worst time of my life,' she says. 'I spent 28 days in solitary confinement at one point. I was in a room nine steps wide. 'You don't know whether you're dead or alive because when you're not observed and interacted with by staff, that really drives you crazy. 'There's no clock. You are fed on the floor. You don't have a knife and fork so you have to eat with your hands. 'There's no shower, no bedding, just a mattress. It's just disgusting.' We need support that's compassionate, not people being handcuffed, carted off, and being locked in rooms for weeks Alexis Quinn The CQC identified a number of safeguarding issues at Milton Park unconnected to Alexis' experience, and the centre is now closed. By 2016, now in a unit in Ramsgate, Kent, Alexis saw no hope of ever breaking out of the system she felt locked in for more than three years. Two family friends, a retired GP and his partner, learned of her story and started visiting her in care. They helped advocate for her section to be removed, but Alexis learned she would remain detained for another year. The couple had previously joked that they would help her escape if she needed to, so Alexis took them up on the offer. On a spring day in May 2016, Alexis walked out of the hospital garden, picked up a hidden bag of clothes, and climbed into their car. They drove her to Dover. From there, she travelled to Paris, then Dubai, and finally Lagos, Nigeria, where she knew a friend was living. 6 Alexis escaped with the help of a family friend and his partner Credit: Alexis Quinn 6 Alexis is now an autism advocate and helps advise the government and NHS Credit: Alexis Quinn 'I had money saved up from my work in Asia and when the plane took off, I just couldn't stop crying,' she says. 'I felt safe for the first time in four years. 'Then I remember that feeling of the warmth of the African sun on my face and the big blue skies and knowing I could make my own choices again.' She was stopped in France after British authorities flagged she had fled, but decided to let her go, saying there was no legal reason to hold her. The couple who helped her were contacted by police in the aftermath but were not charged. Within a matter of weeks, Alexis was teaching at a school and her daughter, who flew out with her grandparents, soon joined her. Her section was removed in September 2016 following a six-month legal battle, but Alexis stayed in Africa for five years in fear of return. 'It's the moments of intimacy and connection that people take for granted that I appreciated the most,' she says. 'The little things, too. I now got to choose who saw me naked and who saw me with no make-up. 'I was no longer being watched on CCTV, forced to eat off the floor, or urinate in corners.' What does it mean to be sectioned and detained? Sectioned: This term refers to being detained under a specific "section" of the Mental Health Act 1983. It means that an individual is legally required to stay in a hospital or mental health facility for assessment or treatment for their mental health condition, whether they agree or not. The specific "section" determines the circumstances and duration of the detention. For example: Section 2: For assessment (up to 28 days). Section 3: For treatment (up to six months, renewable). Section 4: Emergency detention (up to 72 hours). To be sectioned just refers to the legal process. Someone should only be sectioned if: They need to be assessed or treated for a mental health problem Their health would be at risk of getting worse if they did not get treatment Their safety or someone else's safety would be at risk if they did not get treatment Their doctor thinks they need to be assessed or treated in hospital, for example if they need to be monitored very regularly because they have to take new or very powerful medication. Otherwise, they may be asked to attend a hospital out-patient clinic. If you are sectioned, you can be kept in hospital, stopped from leaving the ward and given treatment for your mental health problems, possibly without your consent. Detained: This is the broader legal term that refers to being held in a hospital under the Mental Health Act. If someone is "sectioned," they are also "detained." However, "detained" is the formal legal term, while "sectioned" is more commonly used in everyday language. An individual is detained because health professionals believe they pose a risk to themselves or others due to their mental health. Between April 2022 and March 2023, more than 51,000 people were detained under the Act in the UK. This is nearly an eight per cent reduction compared to the previous year's figures. Black people were nearly four times more likely to be detained under the Act than white people. People from deprived areas were also nearly four times more likely to be detained for mental health treatment. If you are sectioned, you normally have the right to get help from someone called an independent mental health advocate (IMHA) who can help you find out what rights you have while you are sectioned, and how to be discharged from hospital and get the section lifted. A family member will have certain legal rights related to your sectioning. Today, Alexis is back in the UK. She has not only rebuilt her life as a qualified counsellor and psychotherapist, but also committed herself to improving the system that failed her. As a human rights campaigner, she advocates for better understanding of autism and champions community-based care over institutionalisation. Through other work advising the CQC, she also hopes to influence policies and hold care providers accountable. 'We need support that's compassionate,' she says. 'Not people being handcuffed and carted off. Not people being locked in rooms for weeks. 'I know the treatment people still receive is harsh and unjust. People are dying.' Despite all she has endured, Alexis remains hopeful. 'I don't think you can put into words what my friends did for me, so what I do is to just try and make the best of my life, and I try to make the best of it for other people,' she says. 'I try to contribute in a positive way to make sure this stuff doesn't happen again to anyone. 'I can't make up for lost time with my daughter, now 13, but I can hopefully show my children there's a different path.'
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'We need £70m to maintain Harlow's hospital,' says chief executive
The boss of one of Essex's main NHS hospitals has said it needed "an additional £70m over the next 10 years" to maintain "key services that are deteriorating".Thom Lafferty, chief executive of the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow said there was "an urgent need" for emergency capital is due to have a new hospital built from 2032 and it is expected to take another five years before it is ready to receive Department of Health and Social Care said "we have put the New Hospital Programme on a sustainable and realistic footing". The BBC was given access to Princess Alexandra to see how the 70-year-old estate and its buildings a warm, sunny day in May, A&E was full. The four resuscitation bays were full all morning. There were patients waiting on trollies in the corridor. Phillip Clarke needed paramedics to help his grandson get him off the floor after he had had a fall. The 71-year-old from Harlow is matter-of-fact about waiting on a trolley in a corridor: "It's one of them things you've got to do. It's just my arthritis killing me".There are works under way to open more bays next to the emergency Princess Alexandra received emergency capital funding, money would go to maternity services which Mr Lafferty said was "really struggling"."We had maternity theatres closed a couple of weeks that severely impacted our operational services. The basics like even maternity toilets have been out of use a lot because of a historic drainage issue," he said. Walking through the corridors of the emergency department, the hospital's chief operating officer Stephanie Lawton said the size of the hospital was having an impact."Our space is really constrained. It was built many years ago for a smaller population; the population has grown and increased the demand on our services," she said. "Our number of cubicles hasn't really changed over many years but yet our volume of patients has increased." The A&E was designed for 250 patients a day but often more than 450 come through the doors at Princess Alexandra. About 60% of patients come from Essex and 40% from Hertfordshire. There are parts of the hospital no longer in use. Hardev Sagoo, who maintains the 70-year-old hospital estate, said: "There are at least two operating theatres that have been out of action for a number of years because we don't have the funds to bring them up to standard."In the bowels of the hospital there are three sewage leaks a week where a lot of the pipe work and electrics date back to the 1960s. Mr Sagoo said the hospital's "life has expired". Plans for the new Princess Alexandra Hospital include single rooms with en suites. Presently, on Fleming Ward there are two bathrooms for 27 patients."It's a bit difficult when you want to go to the loo because there aren't many toilets," said Helen Puckett, 68, from is likely to be in hospital for about month to have a valve replaced in her heart."There's a shower that is freezing old. There is a shower that is nice and warm, but obviously everyone wants to get in there," she hospital said its existing funding and income comprises:a £50m annual "core allocation" for its "business as usual" capital programme£450m revenue this year from the NHS to treat patientsMr Lafferty said the extra £70m would "make sure our hospital services are functional".A DHSC spokesperson said "over £1bn has been set aside to make inroads into the backlog of critical maintenance and repairs, safety and upgrades across the NHS estate". The government said "hospitals including Princess Alexandra will receive funding when necessary" but did not comment on the specific request for £70m. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
