Rethink: Six Months Later – Mental Health Cuts Deeper

Six months after leading mental health charity Rethink published a worrying report outlining cuts to mental health budgets, a new report reveals the situation hasn’t improved; and will highlight further cuts. Despite Secretary of State for Health Patricia Hewitt warning Primary Care Trusts in deficit against automatically turning to Mental Health Trusts to bail them out,* and National Mental Health Director Louis Appleby stating acute trusts should be ‘ashamed’** for taking money from under funded mental health services; Rethink’s new report ‘A Cut too Far: six months on’ highlights a further £37m of potential cuts across 11 areas of the UK.

Rethink director of public affairs Paul Corry said: “After our initial report in May 2006 which highlighted £30m budget cuts to mental health, service users, carers and staff continued to alert Rethink to worrying cuts in mental health budgets across the country. The impact of cutting services is particularly acute in mental health on service users and carers and will add further pressure on those people directly affected by mental health problems.

“A further £37m of cuts is unacceptable, and it’s time for the Government and Trusts to stand up for mental health and ensure it is not seen as an easy target.”

Rethink are calling for:

• Mental health to be included in the Selbie 6 – the list of six key national priorities for the NHS. Currently, it only covers physical health, despite 1 in 4 people experiencing a mental health problem at some point in their life.
• A full investigation into what barriers there are locally that prevent investment in mental health services
• A national plan for recovery from the current financial crisis
• The present Comprehensive Spending Review to acknowledge the need for greater investment in mental health than elsewhere in the health service.

Mr Corry continued, “After publishing its proposals for an amended Mental Health Act last week, the Government must ensure that the forthcoming bill gives service users a right to access services and guarantees that essential services are protected in the future.”

* Labour Party Conference Reception – September 2006

** Health Service Journal – 26th October 2006