Off-island mental health patient numbers (FOI)

Request

A

Can you please provide the number of how many adults are being cared for off island and spilt this by how may are there because of their mental health or Learning Disability and or Autism? Can you please provide this information for the past five years?

B

Has there been an increase in people being sent off island, if so why and what is the plan to improve services to keep people living in Jersey?

Response

The information provided in the table below shows the number of people placed in off-island hospitals or health placements from 2018 onwards. Prior to 2022, the information was not split by diagnosis type, however this is available from 2022 onwards. It is important to note that some of the people placed have a mixed diagnosis – so may, for example, have a moderate learning disability as well as a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia. Therefore, we have used the type of placement and primary diagnosis as the indicator.

* This is the total number of people who were in an off-island placement during the year. A number of people will have commenced the year in a placement, but returned to Jersey during the year, whilst some others will have been new placements during the year.

In addition to the numbers above, there are two adults with a learning disability placed in the U.K. in social care placements.

Off-island placements are only agreed based on individual clinical need, and most typically when a specialist inpatient service is required that cannot be provided in Jersey (such as secure psychiatric care or a specialist eating disorder unit). Whilst the number of people being placed off-island has not increased, the complexity and length of admission has changed over time. In 2022, a new process was established for the authorisation, monitoring and review of all off-island placements. This includes a dedicated senior nurse who maintains contact and oversight for all placements, and is therefore able to facilitate a smooth transition back to care in Jersey as soon as this is possible. Health and Community Services are also very much using the available information around off-island placements to inform the planning of their services here in Jersey, although acknowledge that there will always be some occasions where specialist off-island care is required.