Mental health must not lose out in reforms, says Mind
National Mind has urged the Government to ensure that mental health does not lose out in the NHS shake-up plans. The charity said that it hoped the Government would put patient involvement and choice at the heart of the reforms revealed by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley on Monday.
The Government claims that patients and doctors will get a bigger role in health services, with GP practices obliged to join forces to commission treatment directly. They will also be handed much of the multimillion-pound budget currently handled by primary care trusts, which will be abolished along with strategic health authorities. An independent NHS Commissioning Board will oversee the new regime, with local councils taking over the public health element of PCTs' work.
Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, said: "The litmus test of the new look NHS will be whether it meets the needs of people with mental health problems. Historically mental health services have been a soft target or sidelined in structural shake-ups so it's vital that in making these changes mental health does not lose out. We have already made significant progress in mental health and the time is right for it to be put on an equal footing with physical health and in the mainstream of the new NHS. Transferring powers for commissioning to GPs presents an opportunity for them to develop mental health services that meet local needs and give patients the choice they want.
"However, GPs currently lack the specialist mental health knowledge and training to understand the complexities of mental health commissioning. They should look to the experts and tap in to the personal knowledge of patients and mental health charities about what works.
"The Government must also be careful that these proposals do not create a micro-postcode lottery. There are already huge variations in the standard and types of mental health care patients receive depending on where they live. For example, access to talking therapies remains patchy, with people waiting months and sometimes years for certain treatments while antidepressant prescribing has soared. Any structural changes must not widen inequalities. GPs already have a heavy workload and asking them to add commissioning mental health treatments on to their to do lists will be an extra burden. It's crucial that these new responsibilities don't cut the amount of time they spend talking to patients."
The health secretary, Andrew Lansley, said: "The sick must not pay for the debt crisis left by the previous administration. But the NHS is a priority for reform too. Investment has not been matched by reform. So we will reform the NHS to use those resources more effectively for the benefit of patients." He added that the new structure would "put patients right at the heart of decisions made about their care (and) put clinicians in the driving seat on decisions about services".
Source: Mental Health Foundation