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Mental Health Nursing, Mar 2007
Almost 20,000 extra mental health nurses will be needed to deliver the government's mental health plans in England, a charity has warned.
A report by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH) says that substantial extra resources have gone into mental health care in recent years, but total spending still needs to rise by a further 50% in real terms, and staff numbers by nearly 40%, to implement government policy in full.
Delivering the Government's Mental Health Policies: Services, staffing and costs shows what would be needed to meet the ten-year National Service Framework (NSF) for adult mental health care and subsequent guidance in full by 2010-2011.
It shows that public spending on mental health services for working-age adults rose by an unprecedented 7% a year in real terms between 19992000 and 2005-2006, when it reached £4.9 billion.
By 2010-2011 spending is likely to rise to £6 billion, but to meet government guidance that figure would need to be £7.5 billion, the report says.
The report adds that overall staff numbers will need to increase by 38% between 2005-2006 and 2010-2011 to deliver policy.
This includes nearly 4,000 more medical staff and nearly 20,000 more qualified nurses.
At present there are 51,298 qualified mental health nurses, which would need to rise to 70,790.
The report examines the staffing requirements of each element of the NSF in detail.
It sets out how many staff and what other resources are needed to offer the full range of services set out in the NSF and subsequent guidance, for example on psychological therapies.
Angela Greatley, chief executive of SCMH, said: The National Service Framework for mental health was a hugely ambitious ten-year plan. A great deal of extra investment has gone into achieving much of it.
'But there remain major gaps, especially in mental health promotion and in primary care, and it now looks unlikely that Jt will be achieved in full by 2010-2011.
'Increasing mental health staffing remains a massive challenge for the NHS and social services. Across all professions and among support staff, recruitment, training and retention need a boost.
'As the National Service Framework approaches its final phase, we must now look at what will follow it. Effort will be needed to fill the gaps that remain and to set out new plans to tackle the exclusion that people with mental health problems continue to face in their everyday lives.
Brian Rogers, Amicus/MHNA professional officer, said: 'Even though a lot of money has gone into mental health, it is not enough. It is a real indication of how low the priority of mental health was before this government.
Twenty thousand more qualified nurses is a massive number, but the report is quite clear. The government dismisses it at its peril.
The report can be downloaded from the www.scmh.org.uk website.
Copyright Community Psychiatric Nurses Association Mar 2007
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved
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