Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that people with significant mental health issues are not discharged to the community.

Clinicians will decide when a person is medically fit for discharge. On 26 January 2024, new statutory guidance was published for those being discharged from mental health inpatient settings. This sets out how health and care systems can work effectively together to support the discharge process from hospital, and ensure the right support in the community. The guidance also includes best practice in relation to patient and carer involvement in discharge planning.

NHS England has asked all systems to review their community mental health services, to ensure that they have clear policies and practice in place for patients with serious mental illness, who require intensive community treatment and follow-up, but where engagement is a challenge. NHS England will provide national guidance to support reviews, which will be completed by Autumn 2024. NHS England will consider further steps as appropriate, following the completion of the reviews.