The 'Five Year Forward View For Mental Health' has been published: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Mental-Health-Taskforce-FYFV-final.pdf
Mental health problems are widespread, at times disabling, yet often hidden. People who would go to their GP with chest pains will suffer depression or anxiety in silence. One in four adults experiences at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any given year. People in all walks of life can be affected and at any point in their lives, including new mothers, children, teenagers, adults and older people. Mental health problems represent the largest single cause of disability in the UK. The cost to the economy is estimated at £105 billion a year – roughly the cost of the entire NHS.
The key principles that we as a CCG and our providers have been trying to develop and nurture over the last few years are absolutely represented here - Mental Health promotion, prevention and early intervention; the integration of physical health and Mental Health and the recognition of engendering recovery and re-integration to employment and developing new models of care among other key strategies.
Mike Prentice, medical director for NHS England North and clinical lead for mental health said:
“The publication of the Taskforce report is a really positive step. It further emphasises the commitment from NHS England to improving mental health and what many of us have believed for some time - that we cannot improve the wellbeing of people in our region if we fail to focus on mental health. Increased investment, higher expectations about the quality of services and closer scrutiny will all lead to better care and treatment for people who experience mental ill health. We face challenges – the review led by Sir Nigel Crisp highlighted that some people with mental ill health are being sent for treatment outside of their local area. There are however some excellent services provided by extremely dedicated teams across our region – and this gives us a strong base to build on.”
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