Our response to HSSIB report on crisis care in emergency departments
10 April 2026
The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) has published a new report on the lack of a legal power to lawfully prevent people in mental health crisis from leaving emergency departments while waiting for assessment or admission.
Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive, Rethink Mental Illness:
“This report sets out appalling examples of unsafe care that people have experienced during a mental health crisis, alongside the impossible situations hard-working staff face on a daily basis. It adds to a long-running record of significant, systemic failings for people in mental health settings, which often starts when people arrive at the Emergency Department. Decades of reports, reviews and inquiries have failed to lead to meaningful change. The basic expectation that we will be kept safe, and treated with dignity if we’re unwell and vulnerable is routinely not being met. What this report describes is sadly not new, but it must lead to concerted and urgent action to improve patient safety.
“Change is possible. It starts with strengthened accountability, investment in the workforce and a focus on therapeutic care. Better care means safer care, and everyone should be able to access high-quality support and care that can put them on the road to recovery.”