Mental health research spending needs doubled or tripled, say experts
Spending on mental health research needs to be doubled or tripled in the UK in order to ease the enormous burden of psychiatric and behavioural disorders on society, according to a group of scientists.
The amount invested in furthering understanding of mental illness and improving diagnostic procedures and treatments should be raised from around £115 million a year to at least £300 million, say the experts in a new report.
Both public and private sectors – the Government, industry and charities – were urged to contribute much more than they do at present to avoid the huge long-term cost of inaction.
Scientists taking part in the Roamer (Roadmap for Mental Health Research in Europe) project set out six research priorities that stood to make the biggest impact on mental health services in the next five to 10 years.
They pointed out that mental and behavioural disorders caused at least 12% of all disability in the UK, costing the country £105 billion per year, yet received only 5.5% of total health care research funding.
Joint Roamer lead Professor Til Wykes, from King’s College London, said: “European governments should sit up and listen. Mental health disorders represent the greatest health burden in Europe but countries spend a fraction of what is needed on mental health research.
“The impact of mental disorders is rising – now we have the science to bridge these gaps, funding mental health research will benefit everyone in the long run – in health and well-being, as well as financially.”
The Roamer roadmap, published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, highlights the importance of identifying the risks and protective factors affecting mental health in young people, focusing on the causes of mental disorders, and setting up international collaborations for mental health research.
Other priorities were developing new and better mental health interventions, reducing stigma and empowering carers, and conducting research into health and social care systems.
The call was backed by Cynthia Joyce, chief executive of the charity MQ: Transforming Mental Health, which was set up two years ago to raise awareness of gaps in mental health research funding.
Speaking at a briefing in London, she said public donations in support of mental health research were tiny. For every £1 the Government spent on mental health research, the general public contributed just a third of a penny. In comparison, people donated £2.75 for every £1 of Government money spent on cancer research.
“A lot of our current dialogue is about surviving in the current system,” she said. “What we’re talking about is improving things in the longer term, not just applying band aids.”
Prof Wykes said: “One of the issues is the same kind of stigma and discrimination which cancer had 25 years ago.
“One of the things we can show with science and research is that there’s hope and optimism for people with mental health problems.”
The report stressed the extra cost of managing physical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer when patients also suffered from mental problems.
Depression after heart attack was said to increase the risk of another attack by 15%, and to raise the cost of caring for someone with asthma by 140%. Cancer death rates were also increased by depression.
Health economist David McDaid, from the London School of Economics, said one reason mental health was not treated as seriously as it should be was the mistaken impression that it was not life-threatening.
“Mental illness is not perceived as being a killer, which quite frankly is not true,” he said. “There’s the risk of suicide, and absolutely the risk of dying from other health problems like heart disease.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “Mental health research accounts for the largest number of clinical trials through the government-funded National Institute for Health Research and the spend on mental health research is second only to cancer.”
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2015, All Rights Reserved.
