Underfunding mental health is not just bad for patients but for wider communities and economy, health leaders say

Responding to the government’s announcement on mental health spending, Rebecca Gray, mental health director speaking on behalf of the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, said:

“The government rightly expects the NHS to provide good quality, accessible mental health care - from rapid support for children with emerging mental health issues to safe and effective hospital care for people with severe mental illness.

“However, doing so when mental health services have faced intense pressure  against a backdrop of a steep rise in patient demand, challenging financial settlements, and persistent workforce shortages, is a real challenge.

“Providers of NHS mental health care across the country are working hard to drive up the value of every pound spent - focussing on improving outcomes, increasing productivity and maximising the use of new technologies.

“Today’s figures show a drop in planned share of total NHS spend allocated to mental health for the third year running. The obligation for ministers to report to Parliament annually on this data supports a long-standing recognition by successive governments that underfunding mental health is not just bad for patients but for wider communities and for the economy.

“Having effective mental health services is central to ensuring well performing neighbourhood-based healthcare to deliver against the government's ambition for a shift towards toward community based, preventive, and early intervention support. Without this, that shift risks being jeopardised.”