Summary: New models of personalised care will be rolled out to tackle the serious issue of adult mental illness.
- For too long, adults living with a serious mental illness have not received appropriate support until their symptoms reach crisis point.
- We are funding twelve trailblazer schemes – which will test new ways of joining up services across NHS organisations and councils – and 1,000 extra staff in NHS community mental health services, to ensure patients have easier access to the support they need.
- This is part of a huge boost to mental health services for adults which will see an extra £975 million going into these services every year.
Background
- Provision of community services for people with serious mental illness has historically not been a focus of mental health reforms. This has meant that many people living in the community with serious mental illness have received limited support from their GP’s until their symptoms become severe.
Our solution
- The NHS is joining forces with housing services, charities and employment services to give personalised mental health care and advice to more than 100,000 people. Twelve ‘trailblazer’ schemes will receive £70 million in funding to transform the care received by young adults, people with eating disorders and other serious mental illnesses.
Conservative record
- Last year we announced a record £33.9 billion settlement for the NHS - the largest cash settlement for the NHS in history – including £2.3 billion for mental health services. And in August, we announced £1.8 billion in new capital funding, of which £850 million will provide hospitals with vital upgrades. £1 billion of the committed £1.8 billion will be spent this year, meaning an annual increase in the NHS’s capital budget of 30 per cent.
Q: Is this new money?
This boost of funding for community services, which is the largest portion from the £2.3 billion going into mental health services by 2023-24, comes from the NHS Long Term Plan and will help to make sure that there will be improved access and support for people with severe mental illness.
