Mental health organisations warn NHS funding cut will put lives at risk

Six leading mental health organisations are warning people could die, because of a decision by NHS England and the health regulator Monitor, to cut funding for mental health services.

NHS England and Monitor, the NHS's economic regulator, are cutting the budget for non-acute care services, which includes mental health, by 1.8 per cent. This is a fifth higher than the 1.5 per cent reduction in the budget for acute hospital-based medical services.

In a joint letter published today in The Guardian, The Mental Health Foundation, Rethink Mental Illness, Mind, the NHS Confederation Mental Health Network and the Centre for Mental Health and the Royal College of Psychiatrists said the cut “completely contravenes the Government’s promise to put mental and physical health care on an equal footing.”

Following Mid-Staffs inquiry, all NHS services are obliged to comply with the Francis Report to improve care and safety for patients. NHS England funded the additional costs of implementing these recommendations, yet they withheld this from mental health services – creating a significant budget shortfall.

In the letter, Rethink Mental Illness, Mind, The Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Mental Health Foundation, the NHS Confederation Mental Health Network and the Centre for Mental Health say the decision sends “a disturbing and deeply disappointing message, and is likely to have far-reaching consequences for people with mental illness.”

They also highlight the fact that mental health services are already ‘straining at the seams’ and point out that this decision will cost taxpayers much more in the long term, as it is likely to mean more people will be left to reach crisis point, driving up admissions to A&E and the number of people needing expensive hospital care.

They conclude that the strain on services could lead to a repeat of the Mid-Staffs scandal, saying: “People died because those in charge failed to respond to repeated warnings that things were going wrong. Let’s not make the same mistake twice. Time is running out and we urge NHS England and Monitor to do the right thing and resolve this issue swiftly.”

The warning comes on the same day that the charity Rethink Mental Illness has published a report revealing that Early Intervention services, which play a vital role in helping young people recover from psychosis, are struggling to survive in the face of major funding cuts.