Mental patients stretch hospitals

Thousands of hospital beds are being wasted on patients who could be treated at home because of a crisis in London's mental health services.

A damning report has revealed that the capital now has twice as many compulsory admissions to hospital under the Mental Health Act as any other region in the country.

Critics say many of those "sectioned" should not be forced into wards, and they warn that many inpatients face a terrifying-stay amid an atmosphere of drug abuse and violence.

The findings come from health think tank The King's Fund. Key issues highlighted in its report are: the shortage of alternatives to hospitalisation; alarming levels of drug abuse and violence among patients admitted to secure units; and the failure of health chiefs to provide adequate support for sufferers.