The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has today announced that treatment for mental health conditions will be brought into line with other NHS services with the introduction of the first ever waiting time standards. For the first time, from April 2015, most patients needing talking therapies - for conditions like depression - will be guaranteed the treatment they need in as little as six weeks, with a maximum wait of 18 weeks. For many patients experiencing their first episode of psychosis, the NHS will start to provide treatment within two weeks of referral - bringing it into line with consultations for cancer. Evidence shows that treating psychosis rapidly can dramatically improve patients' chances of recovery and potentially save £44 million each year in hospital admissions.
The Deputy Prime Minister said: "At least one in four of us will experience a mental health problem in our lives. Whilst I have nothing but praise for the tremendous work of NHS staff, the system is still letting patients down. It's wrong that relatives and friends needing a hip operation can expect treatment within a clear timeframe but someone with a debilitating mental health condition has no clarity about when they will get help.
Mr Clegg continuing said: "For years, NHS waiting standards have existed for patients with physical ailments and they have drastically cut long waits. Now we are finally ending the injustice of people with mental health conditions waiting far too long for treatment with the first ever waiting time standards for NHS mental health services."
The announcement is part of a radical five-year plan to end years of imbalance between mental and physical healthcare services, backed by £40 million this year and £80 million freed up next year.
Care and Support Minister, Norman Lamb, said: "I want to build a fairer society and that means mental health has got to be a priority for everyone. As well as being potentially devastating for people affected, mental illness has an enormous impact on our economy. That's why, through these plans, I am absolutely determined to make sure anyone with a mental health condition can expect the same standards of care as they would for a physical health problem. I urge the whole health and care system to engage with these ambitious plans to drive up standards so that, by 2020, mental and physical health services will be given equal priority in all parts of the country."
Simon Stevens, NHS England's Chief Executive, said: "This is an important moment when we will bring parity of esteem for mental health services a step closer. Putting access and waiting standards in place across all mental health services, and delivering better integration of physical and mental health care by 2020, will bring us much closer towards that aim."
Currently, most people who are referred for treatment for a physical health problem can expect to start their care within six weeks, with an absolute maximum of 18 weeks. The plans announced today will mean that people referred for talking therapies will benefit from the same standards. Similarly, people referred for an urgent cancer consultation can expect to be seen within two weeks. Today's announcement will ensure that many people needing urgent care for psychosis will start to be treated with the same urgency. The national waiting time standards will tackle the regional variations where some people have very long waiting times for talking therapies as well as making sure that there is proper investment in making these services available within an acceptable time.
Responding Shadow Health Minister, Andy Burnham, said: "Nick Clegg is part of a Government that has allowed mental health services to fall into crisis. Vulnerable people- including children - are forced to travel hundreds of miles in search of a bed. Even now he is cutting mental health funding more deeply than the rest of the NHS. Action to stop this is welcome, but he needs to do more to address the decline on his watch. For over four years, Nick Clegg has let mental health services slip backwards. Waiting times for talking therapies have got longer and people are struggling to get the support they need. Only Labour's vision for a national health and care service has mental health at its heart, not relegated to the fringes."
