Bethany Lee
Mental health charities have raised alarms that NHS funding, protected under the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS), could be reduced in the coming year.
On Wednesday 18th December, Secretary for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting stated that he is committed to the MHIS. But some are still concerned over how exactly funding will be allocated.
MHIS AND CHARITIES’ CONCERNS
It comes after the UK government’s recent Plan for Change promised to prioritise reducing waiting lists and improving access to GP appointments and A&E services.
Worries quickly spread amongst mental health charities that the MHIS, a framework that guarantees increased funding for mental health services every year, would be reduced – or scrapped.
Rachel Bannister, Co-Chair of charity Mental Health – Time for Action told Empoword: “You’re not going to solve problems like GP appointments and A&E if you don’t simultaneously support and fund mental health because they go together.”
Bannister set up her charity after years of using mental health services to help both herself and her daughter.
She said: “The information we’re hearing about the government not yet committing to funding is really frightening to me, I’m thinking how this could affect me personally.
“I’ve had meetings with politicians in that party who have made me promises, and I’m absolutely determined to hold them to account.”
A joint letter was signed last week by 17 organisations warning that cuts would “put lives at risk” and reverse progress on mental health.
They described the MHIS as essential, with nearly 2 million adults in contact with mental health services and 1 in 5 young people experiencing a mental health disorder.
The Government’s Response
This week, Wes Streeting told the Health and Social Care Committee: “I am committed to the MHIS. I think it is really important. We have only been in government for five months. We haven’t set the financial allocations for the year ahead yet and I do think, on a number of fronts, people have slightly jumped the gun and gone into battle mode straightaway.”
He stated that plans and allocations will be released shortly.
What do the charities think?
Some have reacted positively to the news, Rethink Mental Illness said in a statement: “We are hugely relieved and grateful that the government has listened to calls from across the mental health sector to protect mental health funding.”
Others remain cautious.
Dr Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive of Mind told Empoword: “It was a major relief for the millions of us with mental health problems to have the Secretary of State confirm his commitment to it.
“There are still major challenges ahead. The UK government needs to show it has fully grasped the scale of the mental health crisis.
“It needs to commit to cutting the two million long mental health waiting lists; to sustained investment in mental health services in the Spending Review and 10-year-plan; and to increasing the share of NHS spending on mental health.”
The MHIS guarantees that every time there is an increase in NHS funding, to any part of the country, there will also be an increase in the proportion of funding that goes into mental health, enabling it to keep pace with overall NHS spending.
Some are worried that whilst the MHIS will be kept, these guarantees could be changed.
Bannister said: “They’re being vague. It’s a good thing that they’d like to keep it, but we want much more robust response from the government before we sit back.
“I don’t even think it’s just about MHIS anymore. We’re going to keep going with it until we get what we need and deserve. It’s going to be an ongoing campaign.”
Complaints over mental health funding have been continually raised over the past few months.
Last week, employees at Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust went on strike claiming they were experiencing a lack of funding and support.
What now?
The Labour government has promised to improve mental health.
Earlier this month MP Stephen Kinnock said: “We recognise that too many people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure that we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health and that people […] can be confident in accessing high-quality mental health support when they need it.”
Mr Streeting has confirmed that planning and guidance on the NHS will be released in the New Year.
The Government’s 10-year-plan for the NHS is set to be published in Spring and will set out key priorities, whether mental health and the MHIS is one of them is yet to be determined.
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Featured image courtesy of Nicolas J Leclercq via Unsplash. No changes made to this image. License found here.
