People pay a high price for mental health cuts

Rethink Mental Illness, as part of the first ever National Psychosis Summit, released their report Investing in Recovery: making the business case for for effective interventions for people with Schizophrenia & Psychosis.

The report outlined that mental healthcare cuts cost the NHS £millions in the long-term; with many more folk experiencing severe mental illness ending up in hospital, & for extended periods. Community mental health care is simply not responding to the demand on services - with fewer people having access to early intervention treatments & talking therapies due to reduced capacity & waiting lists. Believe it or not, over a 10 yr period, for every £1 spent on early intervention services, we as a society save £15 - how is it such services are being cut on a national level?

Shifting the focus of care to the community, i.e. actually transferring the savings from bed closures to community services, might have the effect of saving mental health services some £50m each year: to support someone experiencing psychosis within community care costs on average £13 per day; occupying a mental health hospital bed costs some £350 per day on average. Family interventions - information, education, involvement, & therapy for the family unit - results in a saving of some £1,350 per year per psychotic patient. Family work in Schizophrenia is fast disappearing!

Over 50% of the cash spent on psychosis devolves to in-patient care, not prevention or early detection. £14m might be saved if Crisis Resolution & Home Treatment teams could stay in touch with even half of those at risk of admission for psychosis - in some regions they are involved with only 5%, a twentieth, of these folk!

With some 2.3% cut last year this overwhelming emphasis on in-patient care is a serious resource trap! Almost £1,000 is saved each time Cognitive Behavioural Therapy supersedes an admission, & whilst mental illness makes up 23% of the disease burden, it accrues only 13% of the health budget - yet psychiatric services are asked to make 20% deeper cuts than physical in-patient services.

This National Psychosis Summit aimed to identify & address the systemic problems which prevent investment in quality, fair, & widespread services, based on humanity, respect, & best practice, for those in our communities who experience these most frightening & debilitating illnesses.

We wish the Summit well, but ain't gonna hold our breath… plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose!

Sustainability & Resilience

Hi to the guys who are chasing down our eco-therapy ideas... did you know some MSM folk have taken on a few allotment beds at Cheslyn Hay Allotments?  They're gonna be doing our 'Return2Roots' strategy in real-life! You really must check this out this 'idea site' http://www.resilience.org as well as http://challotments.wordpress.com/

Just grow some stuff; a small bed, a tub, a window-box... owt!  This idea, of responding to environment & aspiration & commitment, kind of sums up our position as a client-led charity - whilst commissioners may not pay for it, or even see it as important, we believe it is important to make friends & meet'em, & share activity; on a bad day, it can be the only reason to get up & get out & do stuff!

We must stop apologising for wanting friendship & activity groups. A fair few of us like to drop-in to see our mates; we like some regularity & structure, & social support, which some sneer at as 'tea & buns' therapy, can prove as effective as contact with'professionals'. We do need space, sometimes protected, in which to engage & belong... it's all about relationships & friendships... the rest is just window dressing!