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Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics: Final March 2017

07:32 July 22, 2017 - 09:30 June 20, 2017

Publication date: June 20, 2017

Summary

This release presents experimental statistics from the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS). This replaces the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Dataset (MHLDDS). As well as analysis of waiting times this release includes elements of the reports that were previously included in monthly reports produced from final MHLDDS submissions. It also includes some new measures. New measures are noted in the accompanying metadata file. The changes incorporate requirements in support of Children and Young People's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP IAPT), elements of the Learning Disabilities Census (LDC) and elements of the Assuring Transformation (AT) Information Standard. Information provided in this release therefore covers mental health, learning disability and autism services for all ages (‘services’). From January 2016 the release includes information on people in children’s and young people’s mental health services, including CAMHS, for the first time. Learning disabilities and autism services have been included since September 2014. The expansion in the scope of the dataset means that many of the basic measures in this release now cover a wider set of services. We have introduced service level breakdowns for some measures to provide new information to users, but also, importantly, to provide comparability with key measures that were part of the previous monthly release. Full details of the measures included in this publication can be found in the Further information about this publication section of the executive summary. Because of the scope of the changes to the dataset it will take time to re-introduce all possible measures that were previously part of the MHLDS Monthly Reports. Additional measures will be added to this report in the coming months. Because the dataset is new these measures are currently experimental statistics. We will release the reports as experimental statistics until the characteristics of data flowed using the new data standard are understood.

The MHSDS Monthly Currency and Payment Data File for March 2017 will be released on this page by Friday 30 June 2017. This has been delayed due to production issues.

Key facts

Mental health, learning disabilities and autism services

At the end of March, there were 1,227,312 people in contact with services; the majority of these (1,039,471) were in adult mental health services. There were 134,852, people in contact with children and young people’s mental health services and 77,955 in learning disabilities and autism services.
In the year between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017 there were 2,638,067 people in contact with services. Of these; 606,846 were aged 18 years or less, 1,365,992 were aged between 19 and 64, and 664,354 were aged 65 years or more.
Of the people in contact with services between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017 101,873 had an inpatient spell. Of these; 4,512 were aged 18 years or less, 77,715 were aged between 19 and 64, and 19,643 were aged 65 years or more.
Further analysis of annual data will be published later in 2017.

Adult mental health services

Between 1 January and 31 March final data shows that, 2,834 referrals with suspected first episode psychosis started treatment, of which 1,759 (62.1 per cent) waited two weeks or less.
There were 7,843 open ward stays at the end of March in adult acute mental health inpatient care, and 5,637 open ward stays in specialised adult mental health services.

Children and young people in contact with mental health services

Between 1 January and 31 March final data shows that 1,645 new referrals for people aged under 19 with eating disorder issues were received.
There were 333,174 referrals active at any point during March for people aged under 19, of which 51,807 were new referrals and 39,400 people under 19 were discharged during the month.
Of the 1,166,836 in contact with mental health services at the end of March, 247,183 (21.2 per cent) were aged under 19.

People with learning disabilities and/or autism

There were 3,840 people with learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorders in hospital at the end of March, of which 1,795 were in a secure setting.
Of those people with learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorders in hospital at the end of March, 1,290 (34 per cent) had been in hospital for over 2 years.
Of those people with learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorders in hospital at the end of March, 2,860 (74 per cent) were subject to the Mental Health Act.