High Peak Liberal Democrats

Mental health budget cuts putting services under 'huge pressure'

Mental health services are under huge pressure, a leading thinktank has said, as it called for an end to cuts that it said could be responsible for a decline in the quality of care in the sector.

Evidence of poor quality care was widespread, with less than a fifth of people feeling they received appropriate support in a crisis, King's Fund said. The number of people reporting a poor experience of mental health care in the community had risen, its analysis showed.

While the organisation said a lack of robust data made it difficult to draw a conclusion on the state of the sector, it warned that cost-cutting measures, including so-called transformation programmes, could be linked to poor patient care.

"These transformation programmes have usually resulted in costs reductions and have prevented many mental health providers from falling into deficit. This may have come at the expense of patient care. There is evidence of increased variation in care and reduced access to services as a result of the changes," King's Fund said.

It warned of negative effects from further funding cuts, reporting that 40% of trusts had their budgets reduced in the past two financial years. The thinktank said: "As their financial position deteriorates, many mental health trusts are considering another wave of large-scale changes. This risks destabilising services further and reducing the quality of care for patients.

"There is a clear need for mental health services to focus on using evidence to improve practice and reduce variations in care. However, it is essential that this is underpinned by stable funding, with no more cuts to budgets."

• Display: Accessible
• Switch to: Desktop (requires cookies)

• My Account.
• Privacy Policy.
• Other Party Sites.