Community care has led to loss of staff from psychiatric wards

A new report indicates that the growing emphasis on caring for mental health patients in the community is having a serious effect on hospital care, leading to an exodus of staff and worsening conditions for inpatients.

The survey, by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, was commissioned by the National Institute for Mental Health in England and is one of the most detailed assessments of hospital care ever carried out in England, covering more than 50 trusts and 300 wards.

Nearly a third of ward managers reported that their patients were now more severely ill and had higher levels of …