MENTAL health professionals are struggling to give patients the standard of care they need amid staffing issues and rising numbers presenting with complex problems, new research has found.

The survey by charity Mind found 34 per cent did not feel able to consistently give the standard of care patients need, with 42 per cent saying their ability to deliver care had worsened over the past year.

Three-quarters of almost 800 NHS mental health professionals questioned cited inadequate staffing levels and 71 per cent said caseloads were too high, while 69 per cent said people were presenting with more complex problems.

One mental health nurse told Mind: “It often feels like firefighting.

“I get so upset that I do not have the resources available to provide the care, support and treatment that is needed.”

Mind’s head of policy Tom Pollard said: “Tightly gatekept and rationed services are not managing demand; they are exacerbating it.

“Many people find themselves stuck on long waiting lists or bounced between different services, while their mental health problems become worse and the impacts on their lives become more entrenched.

“It is clear the current system is unable to provide the quality of care needed and requires fundamental reform.”

The charity’s new report calls on England to follow Wales in adopting a same-day open access model, allowing people to speak to a professional immediately rather than being referred or placed on a waiting list.

Some Mind services, including in Doncaster, have already begun implementing the approach.

It comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced 100 new community mental health centres and 59 dedicated mental health emergency departments would open in libraries, banks and other high street locations, in what the Department of Health and Social Care called the “biggest redesign of mental health services in a generation.”

Zarah Khalique, 23, from Leeds, who waited 18 months for treatment for an eating disorder and anxiety, said: “Seeking mental health support takes courage, and long waiting lists are a disheartening response to that.

“This model would have benefited me when seeking mental health support for the first time.

“It feels much more empowering for the service user with support being direct, relevant and meaningful.”