MORE than 200 mental health patients discharged from hospital in Wirral and Cheshire after suffering a crisis has to wait more than a week for a follow-up appointment, according to new figures.

The data - obtained by mental health charity Mind from responses to a freedom of information request by 54 of the 56 NHS mental health trusts in England - showed at least 11,000 people did not get an appointment or phone call within seven days of leaving hospital in 2015/16. 

Wirral Globe:

Guidelines state all patients should be followed up within seven days or 48 hours if deemed a suicide risk

The research found across Wirral and Cheshire 1,449 patients were discharged and 204 were not followed up within a week, meaning the health trust achieved only an 88% success rate.

However this has been disputed by Dr Anushta Sivananthan, medical director at Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Sivananthan told the Globe: “More than 98% of known service-users who have accessed our inpatient services in the last two years have received a follow-up appointment within seven days of their discharge.

“Those service users accessing our home treatment teams can be seen the same day as their discharge. 

"We are working towards delivering the 48 hour follow-up standard across all of our services.

"CWP recognises the importance of supporting patients beyond discharge and we ensure as many of our service-users as possible are receiving important follow-up appointments within seven days of receiving care." 

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) guidelines state all patients should be followed up within seven days, or 48 hours if deemed a suicide risk.

Mind conducted a survey of more than 850 people about their experiences of the process after they left hospital. 

It found that those who weren’t followed up appropriately - after seven days or not at all - were twice as likely to attempt suicide and a third more likely to harm themselves compared to those who received a swift response.

Sophie Corlett, director of external relations at Mind, said: "This is not good enough.

"It is a tragedy that so many people so very recently leaving the care of hospital are losing their lives. 

“The Government has put suicide prevention as a key patient safety issue for the NHS as a whole and pledged to reduce suicides by 10% in the next five years.

"Timelier follow-up for patients after they leave hospital could help achieve this.

“If you don’t get the right care after you leave, if you’re left to cope alone, you can end up in a revolving door going straight back in to hospital or be at risk of taking your own life."

The charity is calling for NICE to update its guidance and "hold local mental health trusts in England and Health Boards in Wales to account" so every person leaving hospital after a mental health crisis gets follow-up within 48 hours.