More than a quarter of mental health jobs are unfilled in the part of England where it is most expensive to live, according to a study that exposes a postcode lottery in psychiatric care.
Providers of mental health care have the worst vacancy rates of any NHS service and almost 10,000 jobs in England are vacant. London has the worst vacancy rate, with 25.7% of mental health nurse jobs unfilled, according to analysis by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
The figures emerge days after Theresa May launched an urgent review of services.
The southeast is close behind, with 17.4% of mental health nurse jobs vacant, while more than 1 in 10 vacancies in the southwest and Midlands are unfilled.
In the northwest, 9.5% of