How can we fix England’s failing mental health services?

How can we fix England’s failing mental health services?

England’s mental health services are failing too many people. But is the government about to miss out on a huge opportunity to improve these services? I’m Laya Moran. I’m chair of Parliament’s Health and Social Care Select Committee, and we’ve been investigating how to improve England’s mental health services. The more well you are for longer, the less support you get. And despite some of the referrals and recommendations, you really are on your own. There’s nobody there to support you. There’s still no effective continuity between services. It often feels like starting from scratch with every new professional. As MPs, we hear heartbreaking stories. Whether it’s individuals who struggle to navigate a complex system, clinicians frustrated that they can’t provide the care they’d like or families who so tragically have lost loved ones knowing they could have been saved. Our findings from this inquiry echo these stories. We found far too many people with mental illness falling through the gaps. Many have unacceptably long waits to get help, are discharged before they’re ready, or are denied care just because too often support is only available when people reach crisis point. But we did find something that can turn this around. The government is triing local mental health centers that provide 247 support. And word on the ground is that they are delivering better results. But as the trial comes to an end, this government needs to decide. Will it follow through on this radical plan to improve England’s mental health services or not? And my committee’s message to the government is this. Keep the pilots going, get the data we need, and then open these centers in communities across the country. But that’s not all. We’re also calling for the amount of money the NHS spends on mental health to increase every year as a proportion of its overall budget because we need these changes and that money would make it happen. Read our report today.

The latest Health and Social Care Committee report shows mental health services are at a crossroads.

We’re calling on the Government to extend the pilot of 24/7 Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres – so it can gather the evidence needed to roll them out nationwide. These centres offer a holistic service, providing individualised care and advice services for housing, employment and other issues. This could radically improve outcomes for people with severe mental illness.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this inquiry, sharing their experience and expertise.