Clinical psychologist Tanya Byron has described mental health care as the “Cinderella of the NHS”, saying it does not receive enough funding or support.
Since 2012, mental health trusts have lost £250 million in funding. This has resulted in 3,640 fewer nurses and 213 fewer nurses than in 2010, as well as 1,700 bed closures.
In 2012-13, only 434,247 patients received psychological support for depression and anxiety, despite 883,968 referrals from GPs. Mental health charities say these shortcomings are putting lives at risk, as chronically ill patients are not getting the treatment they need.
“Almost no money or research”
Paul Farmer, chief executive at Mind, says: “The stigma is leaving mental health, but compared with physical illnesses such as cancer, it receives almost no money or research. As attitudes shift and more people come forward to seek help, the system will only become more overloaded.”
He added that crisis care is in an even worst situation, describing it as “pretty chaotic, with little co-operation between police, ambulance, A&E and health services.” He highlighted that “half of those who take their own lives haven’t had contact with mental health services in the previous six months…we need to help them too.”
Professor Byron has drawn attention to the fact that mental health care is particularly poor amongst adolescent patients. “Fifty per cent of all adult mental health problems show themselves by the age of 14, yet only 6 per cent of the mental health budget is invested in children.”
“It makes me furious”, she said. “For every £1 we spend on a child adolescent it would cost the equivalent of £84 if that person came out with a chronic condition. We don’t want children hauled into hospital and certainly not police cells – 200 severely ill children were held in cells last year because there was no room in hospital.”
Joined-up thinking
Professor Byron has called for joined-up thinking on the matter, suggesting that “two thirds of local authorities have little or no data about the incidents of child or adolescent mental health” meaning they are “commissioning in the dark”.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt admitted mental health cuts were a “false economy” and were in fact costing the economy “£100 billion a year”. Nick Clegg called it “cruelty”, saying “we’ll look back in several years’ time and think why did we treat mental health like that.”
Legal help for medical negligence
If you or your family member has suffered harm because of poor mental health care, please contact us today to speak to a solicitor.
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