SAM response to government’s mental health announcement (05 August)

Commenting on the government’s announcement of an expansion of community mental health support across England (05 August), Dr Nick Murch, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “This is a positive development for patients and will go some way in reducing pressures on A&E and acute medical units which have had the added strain of caring for mental health patients in recent years due to insufficient resources in the community.

“However, given the current state of affairs on the frontline, concerns about deadcatting will persist until the government takes appropriate action to address capacity, workforce and social care provision as a whole urgently – not just within specific services. If not, developments such as these will barely scratch the surface.”