THE NHS trust providing mental health services in Oxfordshire has said the rise in people being sectioned under the Mental Health Act is below the national average.

The comment comes following reports that more people are being subject to the mental health act, with the Royal College of Psychiatrists blaming a portion of the rise on people waiting too long to access mental health support.

A spokesman for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Demand for mental health services has been rising in recent years and that may lead to increases in the number of people being sectioned.

“Our 1.2 per cent increase in a year, compared to a national five per cent increase in the number of people subject to the mental health act on a given day, is relatively small and reflects an increase of five people from 430 to 435 across the five counties we serve.

“We aim to provide timely mental healthcare to prevent people become acutely unwell even as demand and complexity of conditions is rising. “