The Commons: NHS Wait Times and Their Repercussions
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Young people and adults are facing increasingly long waits for NHS services, including mental health treatment and access to specialist appointments. Shocking analysis of NHS data by Rethink Mental Illness suggests eight times as many people are still waiting for mental health treatment after 18 months compared to physical health care. With more young adults reaching out for help with their mental health, criticisms have been raised on whether the current infrastructure is working to effectively support people with their mental health. As of April 2026, the waiting list for NHS mental health sits at a staggering 1.7 million people in the UK, according to the British Medical Association. With mental health services receiving a record 5.2 million referrals in 2024, the NHS has been seemingly placed under strain to facilitate their mental health services. With specialist care lists particularly strained, many are wondering about the causes of this and the potential repercussions from not accessing such care.
What happens to people whilst they wait?
For people struggling with mental health issues, waiting for support can often mean delaying recovery. A 2024 survey by Rethink Mental Illness found that 4 in 5 people living with severe mental illness reported their mental health deteriorated while waiting for NHS treatment. Of those who mentally got worse, 64% experienced a full mental health crisis, 42% had to seek urgent or emergency care, and 25% attempted suicide.
Rethink Mental Illness: Results of Survey
These statistics show that these are not just people struggling, but the predictable result of people needing support and waiting for the system to provide what it can currently provide.
Preventative Care Criticisms: Nottingham Killer Case
One particular case in which critics have raised dire concerns about the NHS services is the case of Valdo Calocane. Valdo Calocane, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, killed 3 people and tried to injure 3 more in June 2023, after a nurse made serious mistakes in his risk assessments that led him to be released from the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT).
Ward review notes on 16 July, it was recorded that "Dr Seedat observed that there seems to be no insight or remorse and that the danger is that this will happen again and perhaps Valdo will end up killing someone".
At the Nottingham Inquiry, mental health nurse Busayo Ajewole admitted that her notes for Calocane were “fundamentally wrong”. He first presented to NFHT with symptoms in May 2020, after he broke into a neighbour’s flat in Nottingham. Between May 2020 and February 2022, he had six Mental Health Act assessments which led to four hospital admissions. The injury evaluation reviewed several risk assessment forms from that period, which showed a series of careless and incorrect entries. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Faizal Seedat told Calocane on a psychiatric ward in July 2020 that he would end up killing someone, a comment that was made in a frank conversation with Calocane about his mental illness.
Key Findings on NHS Failings
Significant staffing shortages: according to the King’s Fund, in September 2025, there were 28,600 staff vacancies in mental health (19% of the total workforce)
Funding Issues: Although mental health funding has increased, it has not kept up with the rising demand.
Medication Issues: The CQC reports details how, over 2 years that Calocane was treated by the NHFT, he stopped taking his medication. Due to this, he should have been given depot injections to deliver long-lasting medication.
Mental Health Act- Stronger Acts should have been used: If Section 3 had have been used, he could have been given the depot injections and given a Community Treatment Order (CTO). This would have monitored his medication usage and his missing appointments.
The CQC concludes “these would have been important components in a more robust package of care for Valdo Calocane”.
Calocane, now 34, is currently serving an indefinite hospital order at a high-security facility after pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted murder.
This case has launched an inquiry into how Calocane was dismissed by mental health services and brought into question the efficacy of the NHS mental health services, even when receiving support.
How has the government pledged to change this?
The government has acknowledged the rapid rise in demand for mental health services and pledged that improving mental health care is a priority in the government’s manifesto. The government’s 10 Year Health Plan has hit its target to hire 8,500 extra mental health workers 3 years ahead of schedule, showing clear initiative to relieve the strain on NHS mental health services.
Baroness Merron, Minister for Mental Health, said:
“This government believes that mental health should be treated with the same seriousness as physical health, yet too many people across the country are struggling to get the support they need when they need it.”
As well as this, the government is making £473 million ($637.9 million ) available over the next 4 years for mental health emergency departments, community-based mental health centres and wider capital projects, accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges.
On the 5th August it was announced that there will be a major expansion of community mental health support across England, with 159 NHS mental health centres in England being opened to give people earlier local support and specialist crisis care outside A&E. Backed by £343 million, the rollout is the biggest resign of mental health services in a generation including 100 new community mental health centres, offering walk-in support without a referral and 59 dedicated mental health emergency departments giving people in crisis specialist care in a place designed for them.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:
Nobody should be left to struggle with their mental health alone. But every day, thousands of people are waiting months for help, then finding the only door open to them is a busy A&E. These new centres will be a lifeline for so many. They will bring NHS services closer to home, making it easier to get support before problems get worse, and ensuring those in crisis get the right care in the right place. On the steps of Downing Street, I said we would build a country that acts sooner when people need help. Today is just the start of making that a reality.
The NHS mental health crisis is not simply a question of numbers on a waiting list. Behind every statistic is a person waiting for support that could prevent their condition from worsening. The experiences highlighted by Rethink Mental Illness demonstrate the potentially devastating consequences of delays, while the failings identified in the Calocane case show that even when people do enter the system, gaps in staffing, communication, risk assessment and continuity of care can have serious consequences.
The government’s investment in additional staff and the expansion of community-based services suggests that steps are being taken to address these pressures. However, the success of these such measures will depend on whether they translate into faster access to consistent, effective and preventative care, With demand continuing to rise, the question is no longer simply whether the NHS can treat people when they reach crisis point, but whether it can intervene early enough to stop that crisis happening in the first place.