BRADFORD mental health bosses are saving thousands of pounds by keeping patients in Bradford after running up a bill of £1.8 million sending them out of area in a year.

Since March last year, Bradford District Care Trust has sent no patients out of the area to other hospitals or care units.

But figures obtained by the Telegraph & Argus, under a Freedom of Information request, revealed in the year until March 2015, the Trust spent £1,865,653 buying bed space for 108 patients as far away as Somerset, 226 miles from Bradford.

In 2012/13, 48 patients were placed out of area costing the Trust £454,366 but it almost doubled the following year to 102 patients drumming up a bill of £1,458,819.

But Trust chiefs say a radical re-design of its services over the past 11 months has led to no patients being sent out of the area in the current financial year.

Changes include getting professionals involved earlier to prevent crisis happening and giving the right kind of care in the least restrictive environment.

The re-design had also reduced pressures on A&E and halved the number of people taken to the district's hospitals for their own safety and to be assessed on a short-term section under the Mental Health Act, according to the Trust.

On Monday NHS England announced it would be investing more than a billion pounds a year by 2020/21 to transform mental health care nationally. The move was in response to recommendations from an independent taskforce set up as part of the NHS's Five Year forward View to improve services for people of all ages.

Bradford District's Care Trust spokesman said it would have to wait to see what financial impact NHS England's announcement would have locally, but under its shake-up it was already delivering a number of recommendations made by the taskforce.

"Our redesign covered the whole pathway, working with the police, council and voluntary organisations, introducing new services - including our 24/7 urgent care First Response giving crisis care for all ages - and redesigning existing ones, to provide an integrated approach across health and care.

"Services now get involved earlier to prevent crisis and provide care in the least restrictive environment, preventing hospital admissions."

The redesign has also included opening up a safe haven at charity Mind's offices in Bradford where people referred from First Response can go to get practical and emotional support, the majority of people are then able to go home afterwards.

Mental health staff are also being placed in police control rooms, A&E and custody suites to give advice to the police and ambulance service, helping emergency services identify when mental health may be a factor in incidents.

And a new GP based service for patients suffering long-term illnesses is also being developed in the district to help manage any stress or anxiety of being unwell.

According to MIND, one in four people will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime and the cost of mental ill health to the economy, NHS and society is £105 billion a year.