Member

I turn to the specific point about a duty to maintain contact with patients known to have a mental disorder. Where a patient does not engage with treatment, community treatment orders already exist to ensure that patients comply with treatment for their mental disorder in the community. Following the horrific killings in Nottingham, NHS England has asked all ICBs, through the 2024-25 planning guidance, to review their 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. To support system reviews, NHS England has also published guidance setting out the key principles in this area that should be reflected in local policies and practices. In addition, I can confirm that the NHS England national director for mental health has written to all ICBs to make clear that it is vital that “did not attend”, DNA, is never used as a reason for discharge from care for this vulnerable patient group. For these reasons, I urge the noble Earl not to press these amendments.