1-in-4 mental health beds outsourced

The NHS is now’reliant’ on private firms and charities, says a think tank. Storm Newton reports

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THE NHS has become “reliant” on private companies, charities and social enterprises to deliver routine mental health care, a think tank has warned.

New analysis by the King’s Fund found more than one in four NHS mental health inpatient beds is being outsourced.

While the independent sector provides vital surge capacity for the health service during periods of high demand, the think tank said the NHS has moved “far beyond” this, exposing it to the risk of higher costs and longer stays in hospital for patients.

‘A new report by the King’s Fund said that between January and March 2025, NHS trusts reported almost 18,000 available mental health beds, with 89.5% of these occupied.

However, its analysis shows that in March, an additional 7,195 beds were available in the independent sector for NHS use.

This is around 29% of NHS-funded mental health bed capacity in England, the think tank claims.

Siva Anandaciva, director of policy at The King’s Fund, said: “Independent sector health care capacity acts as an important release valve for many NHS services when they face periods of high demand.