Mental Health Trusts See 8% Cut In Budget

Even though pretty much every major political party has said the money going into mental health care is not enough, mental health trusts in England have actually seen their budgets fall by more than 8%, figures suggest. In real terms that means almost £600m.

As I have previously blogged the referrals in mental health, which is supposed to stop people from going to hospitals has risen by nearly 20%.

Care minister Norman Lamb has been quoted saying budgets are “not the full picture”

He said: “Mental health care is given through a range of services including the voluntary sector.”

The BBC and the online journal Community Care used the Freedom of Information requests, annual reports and other research to compare the mental health trusts budget in 2010-2011 with this year 2014-2015.

Out of the 56 trust they reached out to 43 responded. But unfortunately not all provided data in all areas.

Due to changes to the trusts structures and contracts, their analysis suggests they have suffered a cut of 8.25%. This means they have cut £598m from their budgets.

Some trusts have seen an increase in their funding, but most have seen funding slashed. Such as West London, which is where I live and have done my own research. (I am planning on a proper article on that very soon!)

Their data shows 34 trusts have been cut by 4.9% during this parliament. Figures also show 29 of those have seen an increase of 18.5% in referrals.

To read more of the case study go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-31970871

Image:http://www.visualsystemshealthcare.co.uk/testimonials.asp

#mentalhealth #8 #budget #cuts #nhs #normanlamb #20 #598