Targeted investment in mental health services can help the Government achieve its ambition to shift care from hospitals to the community and from treatment to prevention, health leaders have said.
A new report from Centre for Mental Health and NHS Confederation sets out six areas where investment in the upcoming Spending Review represents good value for money.
This includes supporting the mental health of new and expectant mothers, expanding early support hubs for young people, and investing in community mental health services to reduce demand on A&Es and acute inpatient care.
The report, Investment priorities in mental health in 2025, warns that investing in mental health will be essential for the Government to achieve its ambitious shifts in the health care system from treatment to prevention, hospital to community, and analogue to digital.
The continued rise in demand for mental health care, exacerbated by the pandemic, has left services struggling to meet rising levels of need and acuity.
This is leading to long waiting times for mental health patients attending A&E, as well as increased pressure on mental health inpatient services, with patients being sent out of area due to a lack of local provision.
There has also been an alarming increase in the number of children and young people attending at A&E with mental health needs, with children and young people in mental health crisis spending more than 900,000 hours in A&E in 2022.
The economic and social costs of mental ill health in England reached £300 billion in 2022. This is made up of £110 billion in economic costs (including those related to sickness absence, presenteeism, staff turnover and unemployment), £130 billion in ‘human costs’ (in terms of reduced quality of life and wellbeing), and £60 billion in health and care costs (including informal care).
The priority areas include investing in more alternatives to hospital care in a mental health crisis, as people with urgent mental health needs are twice as likely as other patients to spend 12 hours or more waiting in emergency departments.
The new report says that investing in community alternatives to hospital care, such as crisis cafes and houses, or increasing number of step up and step down services to reduce admissions and help make peoples stay in hospital shorter, leads to better care for patients and could offer significant savings to the NHS. It would also be a key part of meeting the government’s goal to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community.
Other key investment areas include training health visitors to support new mothers’ mental health; broadening the range of NHS Talking Therapies, including more digital delivery; and expanding evidence-based employment support for people with mental health difficulties. All have demonstrable health benefits as well as evidence of cost-effectiveness and value for money.
Investment priorities in mental health in 2025 highlights that the share of NHS spending dedicated to mental health has dropped this year, despite the rise in demand that is stretching services beyond capacity.
Andy Bell, chief executive at Centre for Mental Health, said: “Mental health is a good investment. Targeted investment in proven interventions and priority areas will ensure that money is well spent with positive outcomes for people’s mental health and extensive economic benefits. From parenting programmes to employment support, and from talking therapies to crisis care, the priorities we have identified will make a long-lasting difference.”
Rebecca Gray, mental health director at the NHS Confederation, said: “The economic, social and health case for investing in mental health services has long been clear, but this report is yet more evidence of the impact it can have.
“We know that as well as costing the country an estimated £300 billion, mental ill health is one of the biggest drivers of economic inactivity. This means tackling long waiting lists for mental health treatment is not only good for patients but the economy as well.
“The upcoming spending review and 10 Year Plan are a fantastic opportunity to invest in the shifting resources upstream to improve the nation’s mental health. The investment areas we have set out with Centre for Mental Health are areas we know will not only improve care for people with mental ill health but also pay dividends economically and societally as well.”
