We respond to NHS 10-Year Health Plan

Location: England

  • New plan recognises the importance of the prevention of mental health problems
  • Mental Health Foundation welcomes focus on the social determinants of poor mental health, including debt and employment advice as part of new neighbourhood health centres
  • Cross-government approach still needed to address UK’s mental health crisis

The UK government have just announced the 10-Year Health Plan for England.

Responding to the plan, Mark Rowland, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said:

“We welcome the government’s ambitious new 10-Year Health Plan, which rightly prioritises the prevention of ill health and the delivery of innovative and accessible support within our communities. This shift is both timely and essential.

“Mental health must be at the heart of these reforms. With one in five people under 65 now experiencing a mental health condition, the need for a preventative, person-centred approach to mental health care has never been greater.

“We’re pleased to see the government beginning to recognise the drastic effect issues like problem debt and unemployment can have on people’s mental health. We hope that their commitment to integrating support for these types of problems with the NHS is the beginning of a radical shift to prevention.

“In recent years, growing demand has left many waiting over 18 months for support - often until they reach crisis point. Now is the moment to put prevention into practice. For the neighbourhood health model to succeed, we need the government to follow through on actions like integrating mental health into physical health pathways, the roll out of innovative ideas like the Young Futures hubs, and the expansion of Mental Health Support Teams to all schools.

“To compliment this plan, we need to see an equally ambitious cross-government strategy for mental health, setting out what all government departments can do to support the mental health of our society in order to reduce pressure on services and help people to live mentally healthy lives.

“There is a lot to be positive about in the government’s vision. We look forward to working together to turn their aspiration into action.”