Centre for Mental Health

Sainsbury Centre welcomes King's Fund report on future costs of mental ill health

28 May 2008

The King's Fund has shown beyond doubt the benefits to all of us of supporting people with mental health problems to get and keep jobs, Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health chief executive Angela Greatley said today.

Responding to the report Paying the Price, Angela Greatley said: "The King's Fund report is a timely reminder that the work-related costs of mental ill health vastly outweigh government mental health care spending. The costs of failing to help those with mental health problems to achieve their potential in life are immense.

"If anything, the King's Fund has under-estimated the costs of mental ill health by failing to take into account the massive impact of reduced productivity at work among people with unrecognised and untreated mental distress.

"With the National Service Framework for Mental Health among working age adults soon to come to an end, we clearly need a new vision for mental health among the whole population. Much more can be achieved than the King's Fund analysis suggests by implementing proven interventions such as supported employment for working age adults and early years mental health promotion among children."