York mental health services 'in crisis' - questions asked in Commons

She told The Press that she had dealt with three separate cases recently in which desperate patients had contacted the local mental health crisis team pleading for help, and had got no response.

The patients concerned were at 'significant risk' of harming themselves or others, she stressed.

Ms Maskell said she had also dealt with the case of a child who had not got the support they needed.

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, the MP described mental health services in York as being 'in crisis'.

She blamed 'severe staff shortages and low morale', adding: "I have been in intense talks with Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, York's mental health providers, over recent months responding to many of the cases that York residents have brought to me.

"I know that staff are working harder than ever, and many new initiatives have been started to provide comprehensive services across the city.

“However, I have to also acknowledge that there have been some acute gaps in the service with diagnostic times delayed and some people who are very ill not getting the support they need when they hit crisis point.

"Patients and families (are being) gaslit and at risk."

Ms Maskell told MPs that a report on the 'wider challenges of NHS mental health services in the region' had been sitting on health secretary Steve Barclay's desk for months, but said no action has been taken.

She asked Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, who was standing in for Rishi Sunak at PMQs: "Why is his Government sat on their hands, with a devastating report sat on the Health Secretary’s desk, while patients in York and across the NHS are failed? Can I and the Trust have a meeting?"

READ MORE: The 5 signs that someone you love may be struggling with mental health

Ms Maskell said Mr Dowden had promised to set up a meeting for her with the mental health trust and a government minister to discuss the issue.

Fiona McCulloch of York Citizens Advice said Ms Maskell was right that there was a growing problem with mental health services in York.

Fiona McCulloch of Citizens Advice York (Image: Supplied)

She said her team regularly had contact with clients who had a 'suicidal ideation'.

She said the cost of living crisis was putting huge strain on people, with applications for debt relief orders (DROs) up 250 per cent year on year.

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She said: "People who were just about managing simply are not managing any more.

"People are losing their housing, their jobs, their relationships over debt. The mental stress of that is huge."

She said all-too-often people who turned to the mental health services for help were not getting the support they needed - and ended up being dealt with by the police or ambulance service.

"I cannot fault the police or ambulance service - but it should not come to that," she said.

If you are in need of emotional support or struggling to cope, call Samaritans free any time from any phone on 116 123.

What the Trust says

The Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust says it is 'sorry if there are people who are unhappy with the care they received from us' - but insists it is introducing new initiatives in York.

In a statememnt released to The Press Zoe Campbell, managing director of the Trust's North Yorkshire, York and Selby care group, said: “We welcome the opportunity to have these conversations and discuss the wider challenges of NHS mental health services in the region.

“New initiatives are being introduced in York, including the addition of mental health telephone support to the existing all-age mental health support and crisis line, offering emotional support for anyone struggling with their mental health.

"The service has helped reduce demand on our crisis support line, freeing up our colleagues to help people who need very urgent mental health care. 

"This addition compliments the mental health first aid services and crisis walk-in centre that are also in place across the York and Selby areas.

“We are sorry if there are people who are unhappy with the care they received from us.

We will continue to work with Rachael (Maskell) to address this and ensure we provide the best care to the people we support.”

Why are mental health services in York in crisis?

York MP Rachael Maskell says there are several reasons why mental health provision in York is failing.

It largely down to underfunding and a 'severe' shortage of staff, she says.

She claims about a fifth of 250-or-so jobs at the Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust which runs mental health services in York and across the region are unfilled.

Historically, meanwhile, the NHS funding formula means that York and North Yorkshire simply do not get a fair share of mental health funding, she says.

What she calls 'poor workforce planning' by government has also contributed to the problem, she adds. "This has not been helped by the recent pay dispute, where staff feel undervalued and underpaid, with many leaving the NHS."

But she says there is a structural problem, too.

The Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which took over responsibility for mental health services in York following the sudden closure of Bootham Park Hospital in 2015, covers a huge area from York up to Middlesbrough and Durham, she said.

"It (the Trust) is just too big," Ms Maskell said. 

She said she had been in 'intense talks' with the Trust in recent months to discuss cases that York residents had brought to her. 

"I know that staff are working harder than ever, and many new initiatives have been started to provide comprehensive services across the city," she said.

"But there are people who are not being served well."