Cutbacks in the NHS could mean reduced services for mental health patients
Up to half a million mental health patients could be faced with reduced access to services such as counselling as the NHS struggles to make savings, reports the Times.
Despite pledges to increase access to talk therapies from Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, the independent regulator for NHS Foundation Trusts has warned all organisations it oversees to expect larger cuts than indicated in the previous months forecast.
It is thought that mental health services are considered a ‘soft target’ for cuts and the proposed cuts of five percent will result in reduced spending of £50 million across Mental Health Foundation Trusts in England and could mean 500,000 patients with illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder could suffer if their clinics and day centres faced closure.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have both proposed an increase in access to counselling services if they win and Labour has promised to recruit more than 8,000 new psychological therapists if it wins the election.
However, experts have said that any promises made by parties could prove difficult if the NHS is faced with making £20 billion of efficiency savings over the next four years.