Mental Health Expenditure Gives Cause For Concern

The proportion of funds invested in mental health services has fallen over the past six years according to research commissioned by the Scottish Parliament’s Health Committee.

Research by Dr Seán Boyle of the London School of Economics shows that while NHS expenditure per head of population has increased substantially since 1999, the proportion of total resources spent on mental health services has fallen.

The research was commissioned to examine how different health boards allocate resources for the provision of mental health services. It set out to identify:

• historical trends in resource allocation for mental health;
• comparisons between mental health allocation and other areas of health care;
• the impact of any increases in spending;
• where and by whom the money is being spent;
• funds allocated for the implementation of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) ( Scotland ) Act 2003.

Health Committee Convener, Roseanna Cunningham, said: “There is a long-held perception that mental health care is something of a Cinderella Service within the NHS, which does not receive an appropriate level of funding. Dr Boyle’s figures show that whilst there has been an increase in the overall spend on mental health provision across Scotland , it is worrying that the share of overall expenditure in this field has dropped.

“The Committee is concerned that this may reflect a reduction in the priority given to mental health. The research also shows a decline in the number of beds made available for psychiatric patients across Scotland. It is not clear, however, how much the development in services such as Care in the Community compensates for this due to the lack of information on this type of community provision. The Committee has recommended that a framework is developed to measure this shift in care provision, both financially and in terms of available resources.”

The research will be used to inform scrutiny of future policies on mental health service provision across Scotland and to identify areas requiring further investigation.

The report, Local Provision of Mental Health Care in Scotland is available here