News Release, 20 April 2005
The Mental Health Foundation today launched its election briefing, which calls for radical service change to support the one in four adults, and almost as many children and young people who each year experience a mental health problem.
In Revolutionising Mental Health Services, the charity is calling for a new Government to:
- Invest in public mental health to improve the mental health of the whole population. Mental health problems currently cost the UK economy an estimated £93 billion every year and mental health problems are known to correlate strongly with physical illness – depression, for example, increases the risk of heart disease four-fold. Government interventions should actively discourage people from putting their mental health at risk and encourage good mental health and wellbeing through the provision of information and advice.
- Reform acute inpatient care. At present inpatient care absorbs 45% of the total mental health care resource despite having few positive outcomes. If addressed there is an opportunity for services to become much more cost effective so that service users experience more effective and sustained interventions that are better managed. The charity would like to see investment in community based alternatives including home treatment, crisis houses and therapeutic communities.
- Create strong mental health commissioning authorities at regional level either in or alongside existing bodies. Ineffective commissioning, NHS provider over-domination and, until recently, a reluctance to enter into equal partnerships with other providers has meant that disinvestment in ineffective services and reinvestment in new, effective services has not occurred. Only strong commissioning can deliver the level of service change required.
- Reform Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to provide specific, accessible and effective services for children and adolescents. Mental health problems in children increase demands on social services, education, health and youth justice services, and families. These costs are astronomical when problems are allowed to persist into adulthood as previously the case.
- Invest in Older People’s services to support the increasing numbers of older people developing mental health problems. Early invention is needed to care for people with dementia, and counselling and psychotherapy needs to be made available to older people with depression.
Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of The Mental Health Foundation says:
“We are looking to the next Government for leadership in delivering mental health services that support the increasing number of people who need them. A number of key indicators show that the mental health of the public, particularly young people, is deteriorating. Failure to pay attention to and invest in mental health services will have grave implications for this and future generations.”
Full Election Briefing in PDF format, 135 KB, 5 pages.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
For further information and interview requests contact please contact the press office on 020 7803 1105 / 1128 or email the press office
The Mental Health Foundation is the leading UK charity working to improve services for both people with mental health problems and people with learning disabilities. It is the only charity to fund and work with both service users and providers and plays an important role in funding research and new approaches to promotion, treatment and care.
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