Government accused of ‘empty promises’ on mental health

The government has been accused of ‘empty promises’ over boosting mental health provision as new figures reveal that half of local NHS bodies plan to cut spending on vital services.

Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in England which are strapped for money said they will reduce the proportion of their budgets spent on offering mental health support in 2017/18, despite Jeremy Hunt’s previous commitments that spending would increase.

New figures show that half of CCGs would see their mental health budgets squeezed next year, compared to 57 per cent in 2016/17 and 38 per cent the year before.

Theresa May has made high-profile pledges to improve mental health support and make sure it has parity with physical health - but critics say she has presided over cuts to NHS budgets that are putting patients at risk.

Vulnerable people still face a post code lottery in terms of treatment, as South Cheshire plans to spend five per cent of its budget on mental health whereas Lewisham plans to spend 16 per cent.

Official NHS guidelines say all CCGs must increase their spending on mental health in line with their overall budget increase.

Luciana Berger, Labour MP who obtained the data through freedom of information requests, said: “Theresa May claims to be committed to improving mental health but her cuts are harming mental health services.

“This is the second year in a row that half of our cash-strapped CCGs have not increased their proportion of spend on mental health.

“Ministers must ask themselves how long this can be allowed to go on for. They are overseeing a system which puts patients at risk and staff under unbearable pressure.

“Enough empty promises. At the very least Jeremy Hunt must urgently introduce a ringfence around mental health budgets.”

Gary Warren, deputy chairman of the BMA consultants committee, said: “The government has been very keen to talk about its commitment to bring the funding and accessibility of mental health services into line with other forms of NHS care which is why it’s so frustrating to see that CCGs plan to reduce the proportion they spend on these vital services.

“It’s very easy to promise investment but it only matters to patients if the money translates into the best care possible, fairly and evenly provided across the country.

“Without increased spending, mental health services are struggling. If patients are fortunate enough to live in an area which has invested in specialised services, the standard of care and support they receive can be pioneering.

"Meanwhile another patient somewhere else in England may have no choice but to be treated in a bed hundreds of miles away from friends and family.”

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “This government has increased, not decreased, investment in mental health services. Since 2010, spending on mental health has risen to a record £11.6 billion this year, with a further investment of £1 billion every year by 2020/21 and we expect CCGs to increase their spending as set out in NHS England's Five Year Forward View.

"We have also started one of the biggest expansions of mental health services in Europe, creating 21,000 new posts by 2021 to make sure we have the right staff to deliver high quality care.”