Dr Jon Van Niekerk: key facts
- Kind of voice
- Clinician
- Role
- chair of the general adult faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Quoted on
- Hospital discharge / bed-blocking, Mental health
- Tracked press citations
- 4
- Most recently quoted
- 30 Sept 2026
- First quoted
- 29 Sept 2026
“Across hospital services, many patients are clinically ready for discharge but experience delays due to a lack of appropriate housing and community support options.”
What Dr Jon Van Niekerk has said
“We are deeply concerned that people with mental illness are being kept in hospital for too long, or discharged into unacceptably poor accommodation, because there isn't enough supported housing available.”
Chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' General Adult Faculty · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 30 Sept 2026 · Why UK housing issues are ‘putting strain’ on mental health services ↗
“Secure and appropriate housing is a fundamental component of effective mental health care. Greater alignment between health and housing policy is essential to ensure people can leave hospital safely and sustain their recovery in the community.”
Chair of the RCP's general adult faculty · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 30 Sept 2026 · Supported housing shortages costing mental health services £100m a year, report finds ↗
“the research suggested some forms of air pollution may be associated with a small increase in suicidal behaviour but it did not establish that air pollution itself caused suicidal thoughts or attempts.”
chair of the general adult faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists · Mental health · 29 Sept 2026 · Air pollution linked to higher suicide risk, international research suggests ↗
Where Dr Jon Van Niekerk has been quoted
- Mental health discharge delays costs the NHS £102m – reportsocialcare.today · 30 Sept 2026
- Why UK housing issues are ‘putting strain’ on mental health servicesindependent.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
- Supported housing shortages costing mental health services £100m a year, report findshousingtoday.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
- Air pollution linked to higher suicide risk, international research suggeststheguardian.com · 29 Sept 2026
Related media coverage
Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.
- Norwich City teams up with The Royal Foundation to support suicide preventionNorwich City Football Club
- One Year On: How The Royal Foundation is strengthening suicide prevention support in the UKRoyal Foundation
- Licensable picture: The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention hosted its annual Out of the Darkness Walk on Oct. 10 in Staunton's Gypsy HillReuters Connect
Doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and other registered clinicians quoted in a clinical capacity. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 5 Oct 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.