Mental Health Needs More and Change Is Needed

Byitsnot

Jul 14, 2024 Funding, Mental health, NHS

A change you say, that’s what we got. A new Labour government has been elected but what changes have been promised to help our strained mental health system? We have had weeks of debate with hardly any direction. How are mental health patients going to benefit from this change?

Many charities are campaigning for the Mental Health Act to be reformed and updated to help and protect mental health patients for a long time to come. Other campaigns include improving care in mental health hospitals and more help with care in the community. But we get a government after government promising so much help for the NHS but where is the help required when needed?

According to the National Audit Office (NAO), in 2021/22, the NHS spent £12 billion on mental health services in England, accounting for around 8% of the total NHS budget. The two largest areas of spending were community mental health services and inpatient care.

But again, is it enough? With more services being stretched to the limit, the government is going to take mental health seriously and do more for these patients. With all wards stretched to capacity and staff levels low safety of patients and staff are of importance. In the community, waiting times are long with sufferers waiting months for a mere assessment.

The new government has taken on a mental health area that’s poor. Let’s hope more resources are given by this new government to our NHS and mental health services.