Government investment in mental health services welcome but its long-term vision is still a mystery

Responding to the Government's announcement of more investment in mental health services to support people with employment, Sean Duggan chief executive of the NHS Confederation’s mental health network, said:

“It is welcome news that the government is investing in mental health services which will help support a greater number of people to find, stay in or return to work.

“We know that having a job can be good for many people’s mental health but also recognise that employment can unfortunately be a source of stress and worry for people, so alongside this investment it is important that employers across the country do everything they can to support the wellbeing of their staff.

“While we hope this intervention will help people’s mental wellbeing now, there are still well over one million people on waiting lists for specialist mental healthcare and these services are struggling with huge staffing vacancies of their own. In this context, it is deeply worrying that the Government’s long-term vision on mental healthcare remains a mystery having not featured in the Secretary of State’s Plan for Patients, and so we call on ministers to set this out without delay.”