Steve Double, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay has welcomed yesterday’s release of the NHS report ‘Implementing the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health’.
The report, published yesterday, outlines the changes people will see on the ground over the coming years in response to the Mental Health Taskforce’s recommendations to improve care.
Commenting, Steve said:
“The costs of mental ill health – whether to the individual, their family or carer, the NHS or wider society – are stark. I am pleased that the NHS is kick starting this national action to overhaul and expand this long neglected part of it service, especially as the Cornwall Foundation Trust is one of the pilot areas for testing new approaches to tertiary care.”
Thousands of children and adults of all ages with conditions such as psychosis, depression and anxiety will be among the first to benefit from improved services as work starts on a major transformation programme for mental health care.
Intended as a blueprint for the changes that NHS staff, organisations and other parts of the system can make to improve mental health, the plan also gives a clear indication to the public and people who use services what they can expect from the NHS, and when.
The report details how new funding rising to £1bn a year by 2020/21 in addition to the cumulative £1.4bn already committed for children, young people and perinatal care, will be made available for CCGs year on year. It also shows how the workforce requirements will be delivered in each priority area and outlines how data, payment and other system levers will support transparency.
Four areas which will see immediate action as a result of this plan include:
- Investment of £72 million over two years to better integrate physical and mental health services.
- A new pilot with investment of £1.8m initially directed at six pilot sites testing new approaches to delivering mental health care
- Clear plans for how £365m allocated for specialist perinatal mental health services over the next five years will help 30,000 more women per year.
- A £12m roll-out over next two years of Liaison and Diversion Services, for people who may have mental health needs and find themselves in the court system or police services. Services will be available across the whole country by 2020.