Mental Health Patients in england are being left in limbo even after they start treatment, according to Research Carried out by the bbc. Last year more than half of the million referrals are made to a fractured talking Therapy Service. Dominic hughes reports. From day to day, most of my governing thoughts were around about whether i should make it through the next day or not. Paul has struggled with his Mental Health ever since he developed post Traumatic Stress disorder, following a violent attack while working as a police officer. He relies on talking therapies provided by the nhs, but sometimes the wait for treatment to begin has been too long and dangerous. When youre actively that unwell and all youre after is help and support with what it is that youre going through, the symptoms i was experiencing. Just a delay of several weeks or a month or six weeks is literally a lifetime for people when youre acutely unwell. And i have no doubts that with the right timing and the perfect storm of events, i could it couldve been a very different story with my own outcomes. As demand increases, the talking Therapy Service last year, more than i Million People in england were referred. The first appointment is, broadly speaking, just an assessment. Its not until the second appointment that the real talking therapy work begins, and its here that people are facing hidden waiting times. On average, the wait is longer than two months. But some people, around one in six, thats 95,000 patients, are having to wait longer 90 days. What this evidence is showing is that youre getting people in the door, and then theyre having to wait a significantly longer time than they should be, in order to get that next step of treatment. And thats where its really problematic, because, obviously, the longer you wait, the worse your condition can become, the longer your Recovery Time can become. Each part of the uk has its own talking Therapy Service and waiting times cant be compared directly. Nhs england is now putting more money into Mental Health, including training more therapists. And it says hundreds of thousands of people like paul are being helped to overcome their problems. I was lost in the forest. Im no longer in the forest, but im not out of the woods yet. So i still have bad days, but, equally, i can see a future ahead of me. And thats good, that feels really good. Dominic hughes, bbc news. Now on bbc news our world the hidden children of bulgaria. Just a warning there are distressing images in this right from the start. In 2007, the bbc film bulgarias abandoned children, exposed tragic levels of neglect in mogilino, an institute for disabled children. The film created an international outcry. As a result, with funding from the eu, the Bulgarian Government closed many of the countrys larger institutes, replacing them with group homes that house up to 14 people. Over a quarter of a billion euros from the eu has been invested in these reforms. But a shocking report has just been released by the Advocacy Organisation disability rights international, revealing that while the new group homes are smaller and clean, some of the children and young people within them are still suffering shocking levels of neglect. I see the conditions here today. They are exactly what i witnessed in mogilino, and to some extent, they are worse. I have come back to bulgaria to investigate life inside the new system of Small Group Homes in 2019. But first, i am on my way to see two boys, milen and misho who i first met in 2007. Growing up in mogilino social care home, a large institute in a remote village. Milen was abandoned as a baby and has been at mogilino for 14 years. Misho is his best friend. Its laundry time and milen seems nervous. I can see that theyve both been hit. Maria, my interpreter, is not with me so i cannot speak directly with the abuser. I tried to communicate without words that i know what is going on. As a result of our camera witnessing the appalling treatment of both milen and misho, they were moved to a Small Group Home where they have spent the last 13 years. Milen. Gasps hello misho misho. What is milen saying to you . He is worried that we will take him. To mogilino . Yeah. I asked the director of the home how milen and misho have been getting on. When he remembers mogilino, what does he remember . This is the man . I remember that day very well. Milen wants to see didi . Milen and misho have been moved to a group home with a loving director who truly cares for them and who is now their official guardian. This is a glorious home, a success of the new policy where they have had the chance to recover from life at mogilino. But i want to see how young people in other homes are faring. At a recent event at the un general assembly, bulgaria was identified as a model for reform. Ive been invited tojoin in the team, disability rights international, for part of their tour around 2a group homes across bulgaria. They are documenting conditions for a report on social care across the country. We visit five group homes together. In the first home in north bulgaria, we filmed covertly in order to capture early images of what we are witnessing. Ten young people live here across two floors and their lives are more or less confined to the boundaries of the home. Mitko is 16 years old. He is autistic. There is only one carer on duty and she is clearly struggling with mitko, who gets aggressive. Mitko while small, this child is actually 15 years old. She lives just along the corridorfrom mitko. The children here are unlikely to be able to learn the skills to become independent. Upstairs, two young people are sleeping. A child psychologist in sofia told the dri team that sedation is used in many homes in place of care. Later that day, i was able to talk openly with mitko who agreed to be filmed. Mitko, you are living here in this Small Group Home with very Young Children who are disabled and we saw you earlier push one right over, sent her flying backwards. He sings. Mitko, how would you like your life to be . He sings. Some parents say they have little support to care for their own children in the community. And that they have no choice but to send their children away. The Bulgarian Government say they have created services to help parents look after their disabled children. Today, there are around 300 Small Group Homes. Eu money has gone into building many of them. From the outside, they can appear modern and pleasant but it is the care within them that is far more important. At this home, i was able to film openly. This group home, built in 2016 is part of the steppingstone idea for those with disabilities becoming integrated into the community. There are 14 People Living here, the youngest being sofia who is 14 years old. Her only disability is that she is deaf. She is thrilled to find that one of the dri team can use sign language. None of the staff here have been trained to sign. Can you communicate . With the people who live here . So staff here cannot sign. She teaches people signs, which. Sofia has been trying to teach a boy to sign so that she at last will have someone to talk to. Sofia does not go to school. The staff tell us she is too disabled. I am amazed she has not become more institutionalised, trapped in silence with no one seeming to make any effort to relieve her isolation. Along the corridor are two young men who appear to live in their beds. It looks to be some kind of fortified porridge. The dri team tell me it is contrary to all accepted practice to feed them like this. Can you tell me about this young man . And what is his condition . Further along the corridor from the two angels is georges room. George lives in total isolation. His door is locked from the outside. George is in his 30s. His diagnosis is simply epilepsy. He is naked most of the time. The staff say this is his choice. He doesnt speak. He has a potty at the end of his bed. Its possible hell spend the rest of his life inside this room, being observed by staff through the glass window. How can this be the best help on offer for a young, vulnerable man who may have many years ahead of him yet . George . Its very distressing to see such dire conditions in a relatively new system held up as an example of good practice. Its clear how fortunate milen and misho are to be living in their home. Mitko and sofia are struggling in clearly unsuitable homes. I want to catch up with someone else i met in mogilino didi, who is milens other friend at the institute. Didi arrived at mogilino back in 2007. Like mitko, didi is autistic. Her motherfound it more and more difficult coping with her, so she sent her far away so that she couldnt find her way home. Didi would cling to the belief that her mother would come like mitko, didi is autistic. Her motherfound it more and more difficult coping with her, so she sent her far away so that she couldnt find her way home. Didi would cling to the belief that her mother would come and get her, but milen had been listening to the staff and he knew the truth. Didis mother never visited her at mogilino and didi never returned home. Instead, after the film, she was moved to a special adult boarding school, and i filmed with her in 2009. All the students stay here for three years to learn life skills to prepare them for the outside world. Man sings. Today, i am visiting didi, who has been moved to a remote Small Group Home. Man continues singing. When you think of the time you spent in mogilino, what do you remember . And what was it you liked about your boarding school in sofia . It is heartbreaking to see didi. She was doing so well when i saw her eight years ago, making friends, working as a seamstress, contributing to society. Now, isolated here, surrounded by old people, she has regressed completely. She is desperately thin and frantic and stutters as she talks. The institutionalised rocking that first appeared when she came to mogilino, but disappeared in the boarding school, is back. It feels a horrendous waste of a life. What i see is somebody who is misplaced in the environment shes in. Shes in a home for people suffering with schizophrenia, but she does not have that diagnosis. You said that she had been waiting for around six months when i see the way you are with didi, and didi said she loves you, didi cares for you, she has an affinity with you because she can communicate with you. Mitko and sofias directors are in a similar position. They have no power to get more suitable placements for those in their care. Milen and mishos home proves small homes can be wonderful, nurturing places. But there is a reason for that their director, who loves them do you believe that its good to have this, the Small Group Homes and protected homes, or is it better to encourage the keeping of your own children and the fostering of children while the new system of group homes is officially referred to as family like residences, or Small Group Homes, from what ive seen, many are neither small, nor are they family homes. Hello there. The next few days looking more unsettled now and even indeed as we head into next week, the weather looks like it will be taking some of the rollercoaster ride. One day, unsettled, wet and windy the next stage, generally fine thanks to High Pressure. Friday looks like it might one of those more unsettled days with isobars on the chart, outbreaks of rain but one thing you will notice, its going to be very mild, especially england and wales as we drop out from the atla ntic wales as we drop out from the atlantic into the south west so a blustery start today, very mild to, across the south, wet, but the rain will move away and it starts to brighten up a little bit with sunshine into the afternoon and plenty of showers particularly into the north and west, a few of these spreading eastwards and a blustery day everywhere, and there is the temperatures, 10 13 degrees, england and wales, something a bit fresher pushing to scott and as we switch our wind direction to more north westerly so through friday night, it stays fairly blustery, variable cloud, further showers, mainly in the north and west, drier interludes further east but because we got more cloud and that breeze, temperatures shouldnt fall much below five or six degrees for many of us. To enter the start of the weekend, early on saturday it looks like we will have the lump of High Pressure which should keep things generally dry across central and eastern areas. It will start off rather cloudy, wanted to showers around but i think there will be increasing sunshine into the afternoon and we look at the next weather system arriving into the north and west, that will bring increasing wins and thicker cloud with outbreaks of rain here. Temperatures generally around 9 11 degrees and through saturday night, the frontal system suite sits way eastwards a cross the frontal system suite sits way eastwards across the country, bringing a spell of wet and windy weather. Enter sunday, it looks like that main rain band should clear through early on in the morning to allow for a bright day with sunshine but also plenty of blustery showers, especially in the north and west where some of it could be quite heavy and even a wintry flavour over the high ground of scotland. Temperatures will again be on the cool side, single figure values, 10 i2 cool side, single figure values, 10 12 degrees in the south. It turns very windy sunday night, especially in the south west, severe gales for a time and another ridge of High Pressure m oves a time and another ridge of High Pressure moves into monday so it looks like it will be largely dry with some sunny spells before the next spell of wet and windy weather moves in for tuesday. Welcome to bbc news. Im mike embley. Our top stories the democrats move forward with their impeachment inquiry against the us president , saying hes abused his power. Today i am asking our chairman to proceed with articles of impeachment. The Major International investigation involving two russian nationals, its one of the largest cases of cyber theft. A sharp rise in cases of measles worldwide nearly 10 million infected last year alone. The World Health Organization says its an outrage. 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