Mental Health Solicitors

The government has announced that a further £143 million is to be spent on improving children's mental health services in England this year.

BBC News reports that the funding is part of a £1.25 billion package of increased spending on children and adolescent mental health services, which was announced in the March Budget when the coalition government was in power.

However, the mental health budget for children and adolescent services in 2015-2016 is short of £250m that the Department of Health (DoH) expected would be spent in this financial year.

The planned improvements are, however, likely to include a guarantee that, by 2020, a total of 95% of mental health patients will be seen within four weeks of being referred, with the most urgent cases seen within a week

There will also be £30m spent this year on helping young people who have eating disorders, the DoH said.
A spokeswoman for the DoH said that the spending for this year had been reduced to make sure funds would be properly invested. She added that the department was “fully committed” to spending the whole £1.25bn over the course of the Parliament.

Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb – the former care minister under the coalition government – said the shortfall in 2015-2016 budget should be spent next year.

“We also have to ensure that the government doesn't cut the money they give other areas of mental health funding – such as local authorities – who fund many psychiatric services for young people.”

Children's mental health campaigners have warned that services in England are under severe strain – with long waiting times for treatment.

There is also a shortage of mental health hospital beds specifically for children and young people, forcing some children to travel large distances for treatment.
Head of young people’s mental health charity Young Minds, Sarah Brennan, said:

“I'm not worried about how much they are spending this year, as long as it's spent well – that the money is spent intelligently.

“They should use it to gear up this year, organise themselves and hire the right staff, allowing them to make next year a year of real transformation.”

The national clinical director for long-term conditions at NHS England, Dr Martin McShane, added:

“The number of children and young people with an eating disorder is on the rise – and it is right that the government has made this a priority and that we now have a clear waiting time standard.

“It is clinically proven that patients recover most quickly when we treat them as early and as close to home as possible.
“By prioritising our focus on doing this, we can minimise the number of young people who end up needing more specialised in-patient care,” said Dr McShane.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors
Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and can advise mental health patients on a wide range of issues – including access to NHS mental health services and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors regularly visit NHS hospitals and police stations to advise on mental health law – and are available nationwide at short notice for hospital and police station appointments.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may be able to advise the nearest relative or carer of a mental health patient on a range of issues, including initiating treatment reviews where appropriate.

For expert legal advice on mental health law, call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.