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Mental health patients forced to travel for care

The Victoria Derbyshire programme discusses findings that show many mental health patients are having to travel long distances from their homes to access care.

Despite Government promises that mental health services are no longer the poor relation within the NHS, there is evidence that many patients are still having to travel long distances from their homes to access care.
Figures obtained by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ News and the online journal Community Care, show the number of mental health patients in England who had to travel outside their local area to get care has risen by 13% over the past year.
Some patients are being forced to travel nearly 500km (300 miles) in moments of crisis to get the nearest bed.
Presenter Joanna Gosling spoke to Laura Nuttall, who last year was sent more than 150km (100 miles) from home for mental health treatment, Sue Scarborough, whose son was sent more than 240km (150 miles) away for care, Sue Moore, the Chief Operating Officer of Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust - the worst performing trust in today's research, Norman Lamb, former Health Minister from 2012-2015 and Marjorie Wallace, Chief Executive of the mental health charity SANE.

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Duration:

13 minutes