- Conference
- 2014 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 7 December 2013
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that mental health accounts for 23% of the total burden of disease, yet receives only 13% of NHS health expenditure. It is predictable that in a recession, demand for mental health services rises, as the impact of austerity and welfare reforms, rising unemployment and increase in cost of living has a detrimental impact on mental health. The suicide rate is rising nationally. The 20% blanket cut to all NHS services has disproportionately impacted on mental health services, which have traditionally seen under investment in our services. Staff costs are a higher percentage of running costs compared to acute hospital trusts, therefore budget cuts have led to redundancies and down banding in mental health services particularly severely.
Mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk have made 400 clinical posts redundant, including our nursing, social work, occupational therapy and support work members. Many more staff have been downbanded.
Commissioners have under-commissioned services, leaving one community team with 900 cases but with funding for only 500, and the single point of access team receiving 100-140 referrals per day, rather than the 50 they were funded for.
NICE guidelines are being ignored, with the scrapping of distinct assertive outreach teams, and in Suffolk Early Intervention in Psychosis services. Cuts to psychological therapy mean that NICE guidelines for schizophrenia cannot be met.
The shortage of mental health beds have been felt acutely in the eastern region, with patients often being admitted to London or further afield. Crisis teams have found that in the middle of the night the nearest bed has been in Sussex, Somerset, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Bed occupancy in Norfolk and Suffolk has been consistently running in excess of 100% for over eighteen months.
These cuts have had a significant detrimental impact on the mental health and well-being of staff, and on the quality of care provided.
Conference instructs the Health Service Group Executive to:
1)launch a national campaign for fair funding for mental health services, and to campaign with other relevant groups to highlight concerns;
2)survey mental health members to establish the extent of redundancies and downbandings nationally;
3)survey the mental health and well being of staff working in mental health services and produce a report of the findings;
4)investigate and report on the national bed shortage situation and campaign for bed occupancy rates to remain at the recommended level of 85% to enable the flexibility to treat people in acute need close to their home, so community and crisis teams can safely manage their caseloads;
5)investigate and produce a report on whether Clinical Commissioning Groups are fit for purpose for the specialist commissioning of mental health services.