The mental health trust serving Brighton and Hove has been spending tens of thousands of pounds sending patients for hospital treatment out of the area because of a lack of local beds.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Mill View Hospital, in Hove, spent more than £65,000 on out of area placements in November, the most recent month for which figures are available.
About 20 patients were sent miles from home, some for up to a fortnight, according to NHS Digital, the health information service.
The total number of out of area days totalled 184 – the 22nd highest figure out of 85 providers in England.
NHS Digital said: “The government set a national ambition to eliminate inappropriate out of area placements (OAPs) in mental health services for adults in acute inpatient care by 2020-21.
“Inappropriate OAPs are where patients are sent out of area because no bed is available for them locally which can delay their recovery.
“It is essential to introduce a collection of OAPs data in order to monitor progress towards achieving the ambition and to understand where and why OAPs are happening.
“Having this information is critical to improving patient care and ultimately eliminating the practice of inappropriately sending patients out of area to receive acute inpatient care.”
