Overview
- HSSIB, the NHS safety watchdog, released interim findings Thursday that label conditions for people in mental health crisis in A&E as inhumane.
- Investigators said current law leaves clinicians without a clear, lawful way to stop high‑risk patients from leaving before they are assessed or admitted.
- Inspectors described a patient kept in a locked single room with only a toilet for more than four days, with no therapeutic care during the wait.
- HSSIB urged the Department of Health and Social Care to clarify what staff can lawfully do and asked the Care Quality Commission to set a national position for emergency teams.
- The Independent reported that the department has been asked for comment, and HSSIB linked these dangers to long A&E waits, with more than 80,000 crisis patients waiting over 12 hours in 2023–24.