Lord Patel (CB)

My Lords, I will speak briefly in support of all these amendments, including Amendment 114 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker. I apologise for having to scratch my name from the speakers’ list at Second Reading, as I had been struck down by the dreaded virus. In all areas of healthcare, communication between patient and healthcare professionals is extremely important for diagnosis and treatment, and to achieve the necessary outcomes. This is drummed into medical students and other health professionals daily. I declare an interest: I am an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists—an honour awarded to me by the noble Baroness, Lady Hollins, who is not in her place, when she was its president. The citation of unknown accomplishments in mental health on my part was read out by the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, who is also not in his place. I remember, however, that although my professor at the time, Sir Ivor Batchelor—a well-known psychiatrist—was a quiet man, during our psychiatry clinical attachments he used to drum into us that not all mental health patients can communicate well. We had to be patient to learn and understand their ways of communicating to help them communicate their problem. I had forgotten that I was taught that; at the time, I think he hoped that he would make us all psychiatrists, but that did not happen. The noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, has highlighted the extent to which patients with mental health problems have communication disability, difficulty or difference. NHS Digital research has shown that children and young adults with mental health problems are five times more likely to have communication problems, and that in 81% of children with social and emotional needs their needs remain unidentified. Even without communication disability, difficulty or difference, people with chronic acute mental health problems also show communication problems. As the number of people with complex mental health needs increases, so does the need for more speech and language therapists. Very few multidisciplinary teams include such professionals and, where they do, most of the professionals work in in-patient settings. NHS Digital research suggests that there are about 256 such professionals, mostly working in in-patient secure settings. The provision of such services in community settings is patchy or non-existent, leading to long waits.