May pledges mental health revolution to save stricken kids

THERESA May has pledged a vast boost to the treatment of mental health after a string of celebrities spoke on the issue.

The Prime Minister last night vowed to increase the numbers of NHS mental health professionals by 10,000 by 2020, with a particular focus on schools.

Mental health care has long been thought a ‘Cinderella’ NHS service and Mrs May said she wanted to end the ‘burning injustice’ of shortfalls in provision.

The pledge indicates major campaigns to raise the profile of mental health – such as the Heads Together initiative led by Prince William and Prince Harry – are bearing fruit.

Numerous celebrities have told of their own battles with illnesses such as depression. They include actress Catherine ZetaJones, model Cara Delevingne and cricketer Andrew Flintoff.

But opposition parties accused the Tories of making rash promises, after a source close to the PM admitted there would be no new money to fund extra posts. Mrs May also promised to:

Ensure every school has a teacher trained to deal with pupils’ mental health problems, and a dedicated NHS contact;

End the scandal of children with mental health issues being sent hundreds of miles from home for treatment;

Increase legal protection for people with mental illnesses – making it easier for them to sue bosses for discrimination;

‘Rip up’ the 1983 Mental Health Act which she said is being used in a ‘discriminatory’ way to detain too many people for no good reason.

Mrs May said: ‘On my first day in Downing Street last July, I described shortfalls in mental health services as one of the burning injustices in our country. We are going to roll out mental health support to every school, ensure that mental health is taken far more seriously in the workplace, and raise standards of care with 10,000 more mental health professionals by 2020.’

About 200,000 of the NHS’s 1.3million employees work in mental health services, so 10,000 more would mean a 5 per cent increase. There will be more psychiatrists, said a source.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said it was a ‘fantasy commitment’, adding: ‘Either they rob Peter to pay Paul, or it doesn’t happen.’