IT’S a damning conclusion: thousands of people in the UK die tragic, unnecessary deaths as a result of underfunding of care for mental health problems.
“One in four adults have mental health problems. Three-quarters don’t get the treatment they need“
One in four UK adults experience mental health issues, but three-quarters of them do not get the treatment they need, says by an independent task force set up by NHS England. In response, prime minister David Cameron has .
The task force, chaired by Paul Farmer of the charity MIND, has 58 recommendations for the National ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû1000¼¯ºÏ Service, based on input from 20,000 users of mental health services. These include improving services that deal with suicide prevention, substance misuse and postnatal depression.
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The report also highlights the need for suitable housing and job security. Cameron says the funding will help 29,000 people with mental health disorders find work.
But critics say that Cameron’s promises to improve care for mental health problems have not been kept so far. Freedom of Information requests have revealed that mental health budgets under the last government, which Cameron also led. Moreover, it is unclear how much of the extra funding is really new, and when so many of the local bodies that decide how money is spent are already in debt.
Even if the money does come through, things won’t be plain sailing. A found that 46 per cent of workers in mental health services report being depressed themselves. “The picture is one of burnout, low morale and worrying levels of stress and depression” the BPS said.
This article appeared in print under the headline “Mental health fail”
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