Patients across England waited for a total of more than 5.4 million hours in A&E while experiencing a mental health crisis last year, Labour has said.
According to the party, figures obtained through freedom of information requests show that last year one patient at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust waited in A&E for 860 hours, the equivalent of 36 days, while suffering a mental health crisis.
Another patient, at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, waited 496 hours (21 days), and a third at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust waited 278 hours (12 days).
Among child patients, James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Norfolk had the longest wait at 208 hours (nine days), Labour said, followed by University Hospital Southampton at 198 hours, and Epsom and St Helier at 150 hours.
Shadow mental health minister Rosena Allin-Khan said: “These long, inappropriate waits in A&E are shocking. Patients have borne the brunt of the Conservative Government’s failure to bring down waiting lists.
These long, inappropriate waits in A&E are shocking. Patients have borne the brunt of the Conservative Government's failure to bring down waiting lists— Shadow minister for mental health Rosena Allin-Khan
“The Government should focus on improving services for patients. Instead, they have scrapped their 10-year mental health plan and are dragging their feet on reforming the Mental Health Act.
“Labour stands ready with a plan to recruit 8,500 additional mental health staff to drive down waiting lists, funded through closing tax loopholes.”
The data was obtained through freedom of information requests directed at NHS acute trusts.
The party gathered information about the longest waiting times for adult and child mental health patients since 2010, as well as the total duration patients spent waiting in A&E during the financial year 2022/23.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We’re going further and faster to transform our country’s mental health services, with up to an additional £2.3 billion being invested annually until 2024 to expand services.
“As a result, more children and young people than ever are getting the treatment they need. We’re investing record sums of funding to boost children’s mental health support, and we’re extending coverage of mental health support teams to at least 50% of pupils in England by the end of March 2025.
“The mental health workforce also continues to grow to help cut waiting lists – one of this Government’s top five priorities. In December 2022, we saw almost 9,000 more mental health staff working than the previous year.”
