Mental health spending varies widely across England
It is interesting that both Cornwall and South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw (which is more rural than you might think) come in the top 3 spenders profiled here and that two rural authorities come in the bottom three. This suggests a significant variation in the support for people with mental health challenges in rural areas. The article tells us:
There is nearly a two-fold difference in mental health spending across England, an analysis suggests.
Mental health charity Mind looked at investment across 42 NHS regions.
It found that Surrey Heartlands spent the least – £124 per person last year – compared with South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, which spent more than £220.
The charity said the differences were huge and would affect the quality of care but, despite the variation, spending was still rising everywhere.
The findings have been released to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week.
Mental health spending has been made a priority in recent years.
In 2016, extra funding was announced and this was added to last year when the government announced its 10-year plan for the NHS.
The analysis by Mind showed all areas were increasing their mental health budgets in line with the overall increase in spending – part of a requirement set by the senior leadership in the NHS.
But that masked the big variations that still existed, according to the projected spending levels in 2018-19.
The biggest spenders (per person, per year)
- South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw £220.63
- Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly £207.97
- North Central London £205.11
The lowest spenders (per person, per year)
- Surrey Heartlands £124.48
- Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin £134.77
- Gloucestershire £137.00