Mental health patients need to be given access to acute care faster and those who are severely-ill shouldn’t have to travel long distances, a new report says.

Entitled Old Problems, New Solutions: Improving Acute Psychiatric Care for Adults in England, the report recommends significant changes to how mental health services are commissioned, organised and monitored across the whole mental health system.

Among a number of recommendations, it urges the introduction of a maximum waiting time of four hours for admission to an acute psychiatric ward for adults or acceptance for home based treatment following assessment.

It also calls for the phasing out nationally of the practice of sending acutely ill patients long distances for non-specialist treatment.

Current estimates suggest that around 500 mentally ill people have to travel over 50km to be admitted into hospital every month.

These long distance admissions are mainly due to difficulties in finding beds or suitable alternative services in their home area, and are, the report found, a symptom of far more widespread problems in the functioning of the whole mental health system.

Some of the systemic problems identified in the report are: a variable quality of care in inpatient units, inadequate availability of inpatient care or alternatives to inpatient admission when needed, and patients remaining in hospital for longer than necessary due to inadequate residential provision.

Old Problems, New Solutions was put together by an independent commission, led by Lord Nigel Crisp and supported by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, set up in 2015 to address the issues facing patients in England needing acute care for mental health problems.

Formerly chief executive of the NHS in England and permanent secretary of the Department of Health from 2000 to 2006, Lord Crisp said:

‘It is time to end the difference in standards between mental and physical illnesses. People with severe mental illnesses need to be able to find care just as quickly as people suffering from physical illnesses - and they shouldn’t have to travel long distances to do so.

‘Most of what is needed is already being done somewhere in the country with committed and innovative people - patients and carers as well as professionals - working hard to improve services. This report’s recommendations are designed to get behind their efforts and help them to share their learning and achieve their ambitions.’