The government risks overseeing a further damaging decline in the nation’s mental health and leaving behind a generation if they do not take immediate action.
This is the message from a group of thirteen mental health charities today, in an open letter to the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting.
The letter is published on the day leading mental health charity Mind launches its first annual state-of-the-nation report into mental health for England and Wales. The Big Mental Health Report reveals, how as countries, we are now doing worse in almost every aspect of our mental health.
The group, which includes The Centre for Mental Health, Young Minds and Rethink Mental Illness, says the current crisis cannot be underestimated. The charities say that the government must lead the way and provide the vision and investment needed to improve the lives of everybody with a mental health problem.
The group adds in their letter that rapidly rising numbers of people experiencing mental health problems, alongside exploding waiting lists and delayed treatment, is a major barrier to the government being able to deliver on its health and growth missions.
The group is calling for a cross-government mental health plan that puts prevention at its heart and addresses social factors, such as poverty and insecure work, that it says can lead to poorer mental health outcomes.
Rising problems, ballooning waiting lists and lower life expectancy
Mind’s Big Mental Health Report draws on the latest available data and trends which further reveals the troubling state of mental health in England and Wales. The charity says the report is and annual commitment to providing the most comprehensive possible picture of mental health.
It found that rated of mental ill health among children have risen from one in nine in 2017 to one in five in 2023
Referrals to NHS Talking Therapies across all age groups in England rose 4.4 million in 2016/17 to 6.4 million in 2021/22. But the number of people accessing those services only grew from 3.6 million to 4.5 million over the same period.
NHS mental health bed occupancy is 94% well above recommended safe levels of 85%
The life expectancy of people with a severe mental illness in England is about 15-20 years shorter than those without
The economic and social costs of mental health ill health in England is £300bn
Dr Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive of Mind, said:
“We cannot allow the current crisis to become an acceptable reality for those of us living with mental health problems. Change is possible, but it starts from a place of understanding and facing the truth of what is really happening. The Big Mental Health report gives us that.
“This is a new government and we know that they want answers to the issues raised in our report. We in the sector know what to do. We need a government that believes it is possible to create a mentally healthy nation and takes brave steps forward to tackle the social factors that are driving up illness and improve access to services that get people back to thriving lives.
“The Budget and the Mental Health Bill showed glimmers of promise but did not deliver change on the scale we need. The nation’s mental health cannot wait. If we do not take action now we will be staring at a very bleak future in the face, knowing we could have done something big. This government has a huge mandate, so we ask them to be brave and we will do everything we can to help.”
