New investment in mental health services

15 Feb 2016 10:12 AM

An extra £1 billion will be invested in mental health care by 2021 and a million more people will get mental health support.

The announcement follows the publication of a report by the Mental Health Taskforce, chaired by Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind. The taskforce has reviewed mental health care and has set out its vision for preventative, holistic mental health care and making sure that care is always available for people experiencing a crisis.

The recommendations to be delivered by 2021 include:

• an end to the practice of sending people out of their local area for acute inpatient care
• providing mental health care to 70,000 more children and young people
• supporting 30,000 more new and expectant mothers through maternal mental health services
• new funding to ensure all acute hospitals have mental health services in emergency departments for people of all ages
• increasing access to talking therapies to reach 25% of those who need this support
• a commitment to reducing suicides by 10%

Responding to the report, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

We have made monumental strides in the way we treat mental illness in this country — but we must go even further.

Our shared vision of a 7 day mental health service means people will get the care they need, when they need it, and will help prevent mental illness in the first place.

One in 4 people will experience a mental health problem and the cost of mental ill health to the economy, the NHS and society as a whole is £105 billion a year.

This announcement will accelerate the progress that has already been made, including:

• increasing the money put into mental health every year since 2010, giving the NHS a record £11.7 billion last year
• introducing the first ever access and waiting time standards for mental health, meaning people will get the care they need when they need it
• investing £1.4 billion to transform young people’s mental health services

Alistair Burt, minister for mental health, said yesterday:

Today’s report gives a fantastic boost to changes in mental health services, with more care available close to people’s homes. I particularly welcome the fact that young people and new and expectant mums will get the mental health care they need. For our part, we are investing more than ever before in mental health and will make sure the NHS delivers on this plan.