Centre for Mental Health

A coalition of mental health organisations today welcomed the House of Lords vote yesterday, 8 February, to give mental health a higher priority in the new health system in England. Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, the Mental Health Foundation, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Centre for Mental Health together welcomed the Lords' decision to give the Secretary of State for Health an explicit duty to support both physical and mental health. In a joint statement they said:

"Mental ill health accounts for almost a quarter of the burden of illness in the UK, affecting one person in six each year and costing society some £105 billion a year in England. Mental health care receives about 11 per cent of the NHS budget.

"We believe that this explicit duty on the Secretary of State should help to ensure that the Government's commitment to 'parity of esteem' between mental and physical health can be achieved at every level, from national policy to local planning in the NHS, social care services and public health.

“As figures from The King’s Fund and Centre for Mental Health today have shown, mental ill health adds some £8 billion to the costs of treating long-term conditions like diabetes and heart disease as well as dramatically increasing a patient’s risk of dying prematurely from those conditions. By integrating physical and mental health care and ensuring both get equal prominence in planning and delivering health and social services, we can not only improve the support people receive for their overall health but also save taxpayers’ money.

“All five organisations will continue to work individually, as well as collaboratively, to ensure the Bill will improve the health and care of people facing or living with mental illness.”