Responding to the Health Services Safety Investigations Body’s report, ‘Keeping children and young people with mental health needs safe: the design of the paediatric ward’, RCN UK Head of Nursing Practice, Stephen Jones, said:
“This report highlights the distressing daily reality of an NHS in crisis.
“Crumbling NHS infrastructure and a backlog of maintenance issues have contributed to an alarming situation where patients with complex needs are being placed in inappropriate environments for their care, putting their safety at risk.
“Patients deserve to be cared for in environments that are both safe and appropriate, with the right numbers of properly trained nursing staff to consistently and safely care for their patients. Sadly, without proper investment in facilities, workforce and necessary changes to the way the paediatric mental health system is managed, cases like Leah’s will be all too common in an overwhelmed NHS.”
Ends
