Legal News

Figures on NHS spending on mental health services show that mental health care is receiving just 10% of NHS spending – and some health trusts are spending as little as 6% on local mental health services.

Data obtained under a Freedom of Information request by Shadow Minister for Public Health, Luciana Berger MP, have revealed the extent to which mental health services are being cut back – despite all three main political parties pledging to make mental health a central focus of NHS healthcare in the run up to the General Election in 2015.

Some mental health trusts are cutting spending by 20% – and in some areas mental health patients have complained about long waiting lists to access services, as well as patients requiring acute care being sent hundreds of miles out of their area for inpatient mental health services.

There has also recently been concern over lack of access to mental health services for children and young people – with calls for professionals such as teachers and social workers to have more training in how to spot the signs of a mental health condition in a young person.

The government’s Care Minister Norman Lamb – MP for North Norfolk – has said that it is “unacceptable” to see standards in NHS mental health care “compromised”. Mr Lamb has pledged to introduce targets for mental health waiting lists in a bid to raise standards.

However, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is one of the health trusts attempting to cut 20% from its spending. The trust has regularly come under fire for long waiting times and sending patients out of the area for treatment in acute units, according to reports by local online publisher EDP24.

Despite drastic cuts in mental health spending across the country, research by the London School of Economics has found that the burden of mental health amounts to 23% in the UK.

The government has pledged to introduce parity of services for mental health patients, alongside NHS services for those with physical conditions and diseases.

The figures obtained under the Freedom of Information request from two-thirds out of 211 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) reveal, however, that even in areas with a high need for mental health services, spending on care is disproportionately low.

In Merton in southwest London, 31% of the population has a mental health condition, but spending on mental health services comprises around 9.7% of the NHS mental health budget for the area.

CCGs spending less than 7% of their budget include Surrey Heath, Solihull in the West Midlands – and Northern, Eastern and Western Devon.

The former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Professor Sue Bailey, called the figures “shocking”.

“When you look at other types of illness – such as diabetes – the spend and the burden of the illness are about on a par,” said Prof Bailey.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors offer free legal advice to mental health patients on issues such as access to services and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of mental health Legal Aid solicitors – and our team is able to arrange appointments with mental health patients in hospitals across the country at short notice.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may also be able to advise the Nearest Relative (NR) or carer of a mental health patient, including initiating treatment reviews, where appropriate.

For expert advice on mental health law or detention under the Mental Health Act, contact the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.