People who need urgent mental health care in England are receiving inadequate support, a new report has found.
The Care Quality Commission reviewed the help given to people in mental health crisis, which includes people who are suicidal, having serious panic attacks or psychotic episodes.
The regulator said the system was “struggling to cope”.
Its report also highlighted what it described as a “lack of compassion” from A&E staff. In fact it found that people who need urgent mental health care often say they get better assistance from the police than from mental health teams.
A survey carried out as part of the report found that just a third (34 per cent) of those who went to an A&E department said they were treated with warmth and compassion and only 35 per cent said they received the help they needed in a timely way.
But nearly two thirds (65 per cent) said the police gave them the help they needed, higher than the half (52 per cent) who said this was true of their GP or community mental health team (28 per cent).
The report highlighted the experiences of a number of patients. One said: “It was approximately seven hours before I got crisis support and that was only a call not a visit, which would have been more useful.
“As my crisis worsened, I took a small overdose as I was not coping or getting any immediate help.”
Dr Paul Lelliott, the CQC’s mental health lead, said while there were some excellent examples of care, the findings must “act as a wake-up call”.
He added: “Worryingly many people told us that when they were having a crisis they often felt the police and ambulance crews were more caring and took their concerns more seriously than the medical and mental health professionals they encountered.”
Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, the mental health charity, said: “The report will not come as a surprise to anyone who has found themselves in crisis or who is involved in supporting people when they are at their most unwell.
“We take for granted that when we have a physical health emergency we will get the help we need urgently. It should be no different for mental health.”