THE father of a self-harming teenage girl who was admitted to a mental health unit 50 miles away from her home has backed calls to stop patients travelling "unacceptably long distances" for treatment.

An independent commission led by Lord Nigel Crisp, a former senior NHS manager, is demanding an end to the thousands of people who must travel many miles for acute admissions, calling for the practice to stop within 18 months.

The report, although primarily based on adults, has huge significance for Cumbria as the county is without a tier-four admission service for children and adolescents, with the latest figures showing 14 youngsters in 2014/15 were sent out of the county for psychiatric treatment and as far away as London and Middlesbrough.

<strong>Barrow case study</strong>

One of those was a 16-year-old girl from Barrow who was hospitalised at a unit in Lancaster for cutting herself and severe depression.

Her father hopes the recommendations made by the commission are applied to both adults and children, saying the fact his daughter knew she was a long way from home only created more anguish and delayed her improvement.

He said: "As far as the travelling, I count myself lucky she was in Lancaster rather than further away.

"They were talking about Brighton, Edinburgh and across the North East which would have made it practically impossible to get there as often.

"Sometimes I was only there 20 minutes or so and she might say 'I want to go back to my room' but it's the fact she knew she had someone who could get there that was so important.

"I definitely support what the report has said. Over the last two or three years we have heard different things, this and that, but there is never any funding, never anything changes."

The girl has since left the unit at Lancaster and is in back in education, although her father says she has regular "battles" to overcome. She also hopes to become a mental health nurse.

In England, it is estimated that around 500 mentally ill people travel more than 30 miles to be admitted to hospitals far from their homes every month.

These long-distance admissions are mainly due to difficulties in finding inpatient beds and a lack of suitable community alternatives.

However, it has been claimed that decisions to send patients away to regional treatment locations is counterintuitive to a speedy recovery and can actually end up costing the NHS more money.

<strong>'Potentially dangerous'</strong>

The commission report, which was supported by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, states: "Access to acute care for severely ill adult mental health patients is inadequate nationally and, in some cases, potentially dangerous.

"Geographical separation from a patient's support networks can leave them feeling isolated and delay recovery."

In response to the commission's findings, mental health minister Alistair Burt said: "Last year, I asked NHS England to reduce unnecessary out of area treatments, and eliminate their inappropriate use.

"We agree that there should be standards for what people can expect from mental health treatment, and when."

To read the full report from the commission, click here .