IAPDC responds to the publication of the rapid review into mental health inpatient safety

We welcome publication of the report of the rapid review into data on mental health inpatient settings, led by Dr Geraldine Strathdee, as an important first step towards improving patient safety.

In our evidence submitted to the review earlier this year, we highlighted the lack of a single source of reliable, robust and disaggregated data on deaths under the Mental Health Act. Such data is key to informing effective interventions to prevent the alarmingly high number and rate of deaths of patients detained under the Act.

As Dr Strathdee’s report states, data collection is “fragmented”, presenting “significant challenges” to gaining a proper picture of how many people die and the causes of their deaths. We agree that “more work is needed” to improve the “timeliness, quality and availability” of data on deaths of some of society’s most vulnerable people.

Further, as set out in our evidence, better sources of data alone cannot improve patient safety. An independent body tasked with investigating deaths under the Mental Health Act is vital to ensuring that learning is identified and embedded following a death.

We now look forward to working with Government to take forward recommendations from the review, including better data collection and publication. This is urgently needed to see a real improvement to patient safety and ensure these tragic deaths are prevented.

You can read the report here.