Legal News

Mental health charity Mind has responded to the Chancellor’s Spring Budget 2017, welcoming additional funding which the charity says will benefit mental health patients.

In his Budget, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced more funding for Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs), social care and the liaison between GPs and Accident and Emergency (A&E) services in England.

Mind said that more funding for all three areas of social care and healthcare was vital to people with mental health problems.

Head of Policy and Campaigns at Mind, Vicki Nash, said:

“We welcome additional funding in these three areas, all of which are vital to people with mental health problems. While the extra money is appreciated, what the system actually does with it will really go to show if the government and the NHS is genuinely committed to making mental health as important as physical health.

“It’s also worrying that the Chancellor failed to mention mental health explicitly, despite the Prime Minister’s rhetoric around the ‘burning injustices’ still faced by the people Mind represent. Far too many people with mental health problems tell us they’ve been stuck in hospital when there’s nowhere else for them to go – or, conversely, that they’re discharged too soon after being admitted at their most unwell, experiencing a mental health crisis.

“Even after you’ve left hospital – whether for physical or mental health problems, or both – it’s really important you’re given track. At the moment, we know far too few people with mental health problems are provided with the ongoing support they might need after a spell in hospital, and can end up being re-admitted.”

Mind is currently seeking mental health patients who have been hospitalised in the last few years due to mental health issues for a short survey on their experiences on leaving hospital in mental health crisis.

Mind also noted that the Spring Budget, made no mention of the government’s plans to change the way in which Personal Independence Payments (PIP) were awarded in the future. Chief executive of Mind, Paul Farmer, said:

“People who find it difficult to leave the house because of anxiety, panic attacks and other mental health problems are as restricted in their independence as many people with physical mobility problems – and face just as many higher costs in their daily lives as other disabled people do. The government’s changes to Personal Independence Payment could affect over 160,000 people with mental health problems – both in and out of work who have extra costs related to their disability.

“These proposed changes could prevent people accessing the financial support they need to get to health or job appointments, get out to pay for fuel and heating, take their children to school, or see friends and family – things essential to their daily lives and recovery, things essential to preventing isolation. The government says that it is committed to treating mental health as seriously as physical health – but these proposals call this commitment into question. These misguided proposals must be reversed.”

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and can advise mental health patients on a wide range of issues – including access to NHS mental health services and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors regularly visit NHS hospitals to advise on mental health law – and are available across England and Wales at short notice for hospital and police station appointments.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may be able to advise the nearest relative or carer of a mental health patient on a range of issues, including initiating treatment reviews where appropriate.

For expert legal advice on mental health law, call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 020 3114 1124.