£400 million to extend access to psychological
therapies
New plans to
transform the mental health and well-being of the nation and
ensure – for the first time – that mental health is given the same
importance as the nation’s physical health, were announced today
by the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg and Andrew Lansley and
Paul Burstow from the Department of Health.
The No health without mental health Strategy outlines
how a new emphasis on early intervention and prevention will help
tackle the underlying causes of mental ill-health. It sets out how
the Government will work with the NHS, local government and the
third sector to help people recover and challenge stigma.
Central to these plans is an additional investment of around £400
million to improve access to modern, evidence-based psychological
therapies over the next four years.
This will extend the current programme available to offer
personalised support to 3.2 million people across the country,
making available a choice of psychological therapies such as
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Counselling for Depression,
and Interpersonal Psychotherapy and ensuring access for anyone who
needs it.
At least one in four people experience a mental health problem at
some point in their life and mental ill-health represents up to
23% of the total burden of ill health in the UK - the largest
single cause of illness.
Half of those with mental health problems first experience
symptoms before the age of 14 and three-quarters before their mid
twenties. Depression is also the most common mental health problem
in people aged over 65, with 13-16% having sufficiently severe
depression to require treatment.
The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:
“The evidence is clear: mental health needs to be addressed
with the same urgency as physical health. We need to end the
stigma attached to mental illness, to set an example by talking
about the issue openly and candidly and ensure everyone can access
the support and information they need.
“The strategy today shows how we will put people at the heart
of everything we do, from a new focus on early intervention to
increased funding for psychological therapy, so that everyone has
a fair opportunity to get their lives back on track.”
Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow said:
“For too long mental health has been the poor relation in the
NHS. Yet we know that good mental health and resilience are
fundamental to our physical health, our relationships, our
education, our work and to achieving our potential.
“What this strategy does is ensure that modern, evidence-based
therapies are available for all who need them. Working with
others, the Government is determined to promote good mental health
and wellbeing and challenge the stigma and discrimination that
still affects so many people with mental health problems today.
“With one in four of us likely to suffer from a mental health
problem at some point in our lives, it’s not a question of them
and us. Good mental health is everyone’s business.”
Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley
said:
“There is no good health without good mental health. Too often in
the past, mental health issues have been marginalised. This
cross-government strategy will finally place good mental health at
the heart of everything we do.
"The six key aims of this strategy make clear our
commitment to improving public health and wellbeing through
improving mental health.
“For the first time, people of all ages with mental health
problems will be able to receive personalised care to reflect
their own needs.
“The NHS will also no longer focus its attention on treatment
alone - but will move towards early intervention and prevention to
deliver outcomes for patients which are amongst the best in the world.”
This strategy commits to beginning to expand provision of
psychological therapies to children and young people, older
people, people with long-term physical health problems, those with
medically unexplained symptoms and those with serious mental
illness. This will help to reduce the burden of ill-health in the
UK and ensure that evidence-based therapies are available to these
key groups.
Patients will be able to request a referral via their GP or
contact the provider directly for a self-referral consultation.
Extending psychological therapies to all those with mental health
problems will result in one million people recovering from their
condition by 2014 and 75,000 people getting their lives back on
track by returning to work, education, training or volunteering.
It will also create over £700 million of savings to the public
sector in healthcare, tax and welfare gains.
The Government’s priorities are summarised in six main objectives
- agreed with partner organisations in the mental health sector -
to make clear to individuals, families and communities how the
Government’s plans will make a positive difference to them. This
Strategy will ensure that by 2014:
more people will have good mental health;more people with mental
health problems will recover;more people with mental health
problems will have good physical health;more people with mental
health problems will have a positive experience of care and
support;fewer people will suffer avoidable harm; andfewer people
will experience stigma and discrimination.
Sarah Brennan, Chair of the Children and Young
People’s Mental Health Coalition and Chief Executive of
YoungMinds said:
“We commend the Government for putting children and young people
at the heart of its mental health strategy for the first time.
Thus emphasising the vital importance of giving all young people a
good start in life and the effect of this on long term mental
health.
“Effective implementation of this strategy however will be
challenging in the tough economic climate. We look forward to
working with government to make the strategy a reality, resulting
in a transformation in the lives of children and young people in
Britain today.”
Future Vision Coalition co-chair Dr Andrew
McCulloch said:
“The Government has today made a much needed commitment both to
promote good mental health for all and to improve support for
those who experience mental ill health.
“People of all ages with mental health problems are too often
excluded from the opportunities in life that others enjoy. The
strategy shows that all government departments need to work
together to improve the mental health of the whole population and
to secure better, quicker and more responsive services for those
who need them.”
In addition, the Government will:
launch the Health Visitors Implementation plan following our
announcement last October for 4,200 additional health
visitors;through the Early Intervention Grant bring together
funding (£2.2bn in 2011-12) for early intervention and
preventative services for children, young people and families,
which can also be used for Targeted Mental Health in Schools
(TaMHS). Local authorities will have greater freedom and
flexibility to put in place programmes that can reduce conduct
disorder, improve family relationships and reduce costs to social
care, youth justice, education and health systems;provide an extra
investment of up to £7.2 million to ensure the best treatment
possible for veterans with mental health problems;ensure that by
2014 people in contact with the criminal justice system will have
improved access to mental health services – as outlined in the
Ministry of Justice Green Paper Breaking the Cycle: Effective
Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders;work in
partnership with the Time to Change programme to challenge stigma
and discrimination; establish community budgets in 16 local areas
for families with complex needs (including mental health problems)
as part of a national campaign to turn around the lives of
families with multiple problems;ensure that all psychological
therapy sites have an employment co-ordinator who will work with
Jobcentre Plus offices, employers and occupational health schemes
to help people get back into work;launch a consultation to extend
to all employees the right to request flexible working, which will
help carers of people with mental health problems to manage their
caring role alongside work; andpublish a new cross-Government
suicide prevention strategy in the spring of 2011.
The No health without mental health strategy, a
cross-Government mental health outcomes strategy for people of
all ages, is the second of a number of outcomes strategies
published following on from the White Paper, Equity and
excellence: Liberating the NHS.
Outcomes strategies will play a crucial role in translating the
underpinning principles of the Coalition Government’s reforms of
the health and care services into the steps needed to drive
improved health outcomes; putting patients and the public first,
empowering professionals and strengthening local accountability.
Notes to Editors
1. For media enquiries, and case studies - please contact the
Department of Health Newsdesk on 020 7210 5221
2. The Department of Health announced in June 2010 an additional
£70 million to extend access to adult psychological therapies.
3. The Health and Social Care Bill 2011 contains provisions
covering five themes. The Mental Health Outcomes Strategy will
build on these:
• strengthening commissioning of NHS services
•
increasing democratic accountability and public voice
•
liberating provision of NHS services
• strengthening public
health services
• reforming health and care arm’s-length bodies.
4. A range of documents to support the publication of No health
without mental health – a cross-government strategy for people of
all ages, can be found online at: www.dh.gov.uk/mentalhealthstrategy
5. The full range of NICE approved psychological therapies include:
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Counselling for
Depression
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy
• Couple’s
therapy
• Dynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk