Patients detained in hospital psychiatric wards are up to five times more likely to suffer a preventable death than mentally ill prisoners in the prisons of England and Wales, according to figures obtained by an official inquiry.
For the first time, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) examined how civil liberties of detainees with mental health conditions were protected across the health, prison and police settings.
Its inquiry found that between 2010 and 2013 there had been 662 deaths among mentally ill detainees that could have been avoided.
The commission warned that in many cases it was “basic mistakes” that cost lives. It encountered “tragic cases” where there had been a failure to properly monitor patients and prisoners at serious risk of suicide – even when their records recommended constant observation.
In other instances, hospital staff had not removed “ligature points” on psychiatric wards despite the fact they are commonly used to attempt suicide.
While deaths in police cells often make headlines, there were only 17 “avertable” instances recorded – a rate of one needless death in every 300,000 occasions that custody was used as a place of safety.
In prisons, there were 295 preventable deaths between 2010 and 2013, a rate equivalent to up to one avoidable death per 1,000 mentally ill prisoners. In hospitals, the comparable figure is one death in about 200 patients detained.
Campaigners welcomed the report. The charity Inquest, which campaigns on the issue of deaths in custody, said: “When someone dies in the care of the state, the state must be held accountable for any neglect or ill treatment. Too many deaths ae the result of repeated failings and ineffective learning.”
Despite the need for improvements in all public services, the commission’s report was clear that the biggest steps need to be taken to improve the conditions of patients who have been detained in hospital because of their mental health.