Funding needed to help mental health struggle
RISHI Sunak’s £500m funding is recognition of the immense strain the pandemic has placed on people’s mental health, in the same way it has devastated many livelihoods and businesses.
However, funding is just the first step.
We must now consider how the money is best distributed, especially as we don’t fully understand the long-term neuropsychiatric impact of Covid.
This funding will be stretched. Preliminary studies suggest those who have had coronavirus could be at a higher risk of developing psychiatric disorders, and the strain on frontline staff and families who have been bereaved is clear.
What’s absolutely crucial is that part of the funding is deployed to
tackle the backlog of adult mental health referrals.
At Clinical Partners, we’ve witnessed a surge in demand from people who are unable to access services through the NHS, particularly in terms of diagnostic support and forward treatment.
We need tight performance management in place, so organisations that receive funding are clear about how they will address the backlog, so we ensure that the right support is reaching the people who need it.
While we still need more detail about how exactly the money will be spent, I would urge that a proportion is ringfenced for Covid-specific work.
We need significant investment in data collection so that we can begin deriving insight and learnings as quickly as possible, in the same way we have invested in research into the physical effects.
Alice Parshall,