The number of times patients have self-harmed while in mental health units has almost doubled in five years, prompting concern that services are struggling to help those in their care.

Data obtained by the Guardian from nearly half of NHS mental health trusts across England show that the number of incidents of self-harm among inpatients shot up from 15,489 to 28,585 between 2013 and 2017. During that period, the number of patients who reportedly self-harmed increased from 4,432 to 6,326.

Experts said the rise was extremely concerning as it showed that services were struggling to provide the therapeutic support needed, though it was also noted that the increase could indicate better reporting of incidents.

Luciana Berger MP, the president of the Labour Campaign for Mental Health, said the rise was “extremely worrying”, adding: “Too many patients do not have access to the crucial contact and therapeutic support that they need to ensure their wellbeing, even when in inpatient care.”

She said during the time that self-harm had increased, mental health services had had real-terms cuts to their budgets. “This rise in self-harm is unacceptable and more must urgently be done to provide patients with adequate levels of care,” Berger said.

Vicki Nash, the head of policy and campaigns at Mind, said it was “hugely concerning” to see such a steep rise. She said it could be that trusts were better at reporting incidents, but it was also likely that there had been an increase in self-harming, which reflects the wider national picture.

Data from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity survey, published every seven years by NHS Digital, showed the proportion of 16- to 74-year-olds reporting having self-harmed increased from 3.8% in 2007 to 6.4% in 2014.

Staffing issues were also blamed for the increase in the number of incidents. Barbara Keeley MP, the shadow mental health minister, said the figures raised serious questions about the quality and safety of mental health inpatient services.

She called on the government to urgently address the issue, looking specifically at staffing, which “plays a critical role in the delivery of safe care in different mental health settings”.

Dr Adrian James, registrar of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, described the rise as a “great concern” because it was a sign that patients were distressed.



“The acuteness of patients on wards has gone up at a time when staffing is becoming ever more challenging, so we have increased demand and a reduced ability to meet that demand. We need to look at policy and practice and research and make sure we are recruiting enough people who are sufficiently trained,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Luciana Berger MP, president of the Labour Campaign for Mental Health: ‘Too many patients do not have access to the crucial therapeutic support that they need.’ Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

One of the hospitals with the biggest rise in the number of self-harming incidents was Sussex Partnership NHS foundation trust, with the number of patients who self-harmed increasing from 253 to 706 in five years. The number of self-harm incidents shot up from 615 to 1,866.

The trust said over the last two years it had improved the way it reported all types of incidents that occur, including self-harm.



Another trust with a surge in numbers was Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS foundation trust. The number of self-harming incidents increased from 925 to 2,697 over five years. The trust also said it had made improvements to how it reports self-harm, and noted that there had been a reduction in the number of incidences of very serious self-harm.

One of the provoking factors for patients is the lack of understanding and empathy from staff Becki Copley, whose daughter started self-harming in hospital

A separate freedom of information request shared with the Guardian, looking at West Lane hospital, which offers support to children and adolescents with mental health problems and is part of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS foundation trust, recorded a rise in the number of self-harm incidents from 126 in 2013 to 451 last year.

Becki Copley, 38, from Newcastle, whose daughter started self-harming when she was admitted to hospital, said mental health and eating disorder units managed things in a similar way and deemed self-harming to be a choice.



“Staff are often not trained in self-harm management [in my view], and one of the provoking factors for patients is the lack of understanding and empathy from staff. The current staffing shortages nationally and reliance of bank and support staff are only serving to add to an increasingly dangerous issue,” she said.

Copley added that she has spoken to other parents who have complained about the level of self-harming that goes on while in hospital care, saying more needs to be done to address it.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The safety of patients is paramount. We launched a ‘zero suicide’ ambition for mental health inpatients this year to work towards reducing avoidable deaths - we are asking every NHS mental health provider to implement a zero suicide policy.

“We have invested more money to improve the safety of mental health wards, focusing on improvements in urgent and emergency care, managing self-harm and improving safety and training in inpatient settings.”