So called “mental health savings” are costing us money
Edmund Stubbs, 27 November 2014
Ask a room of people to raise their hands if they have suffered from a bout of flu in the past year you are likely to see around a quarter raising their hands. Ask the same group how many have experienced a mental health episode in the same period and you are unlikely to witness a single hand being raised, and this despite the two afflictions having roughly the same incidence according to official figures. Such is the stigma of admitting to mental health problems in the UK.
Encouragingly, in recent years sizeable efforts have been made to challenge our poor perception of mental health issues and their treatment. This has largely been the result of public awareness campaigns accompanying a gradual increase in funding (from £9bn in 2003 to just over £12bn in 2012). It is not generally known that mental health problems constitute the most common disability factor in the UK population, accounting for almost half of ill health in people under 65, and on average being 50% more debilitating than asthma, angina, arthritis or diabetes.
It is worrying therefore to see mental health, accounting for nearly a quarter of all disease, yet presently receiving only 13% of the overall healthcare budget, experiencing cuts. Could it be that the drive to achieve better mental health nationally is losing momentum due to financial restraint? Are health care policy makers somehow viewing the suffering of mental health patients and its economic results as being less serious, both individually and nationally, than the suffering resulting from physical illness?
There are currently around 3,300 fewer nursing posts in mental health than there were in 2010; representing a decrease of 8%. Freedom of information disclosures have also revealed a decrease of 2.3% in funding for mental health trusts over the last two financial years. The fact that both NHS England and Monitor have recommended cutting the funding of mental health services by 20% more than that proposed for acute services seems both unjust and illogical.
Mental illness is a recognised cause of physical ill health and makes previously existing physical conditions worse. It can also cause people to adopt dangerous and unhealthy behaviour. Those with depression or anxiety are much more likely to drink, take drugs, smoke, or injure themselves. Thus, it is estimated that as much as £10bn of the NHS’s annual budget could be spent on treating physical health issues caused by mental health illness.
Recent research has shown that when patients receive psychological therapy the improvement in physical symptoms is so great that in effect such treatment “pays for itself”, saving the NHS money overall. Therefore, it is imperative that policy makers maintain a positive view of the value of investment, both in terms of funding and appreciation, of mental health care; if not for reasons of compassion then simply from those of expediency.