Mental health care providers continue to receive far smaller budget increases than hospitals, five years after ministers pledged to create “parity of esteem” between NHS mental and physical health services.
If you work in the mental health sector, or have accessed their services, we’d like you to share your experiences and insight with us.
Budgets of NHS mental health trusts in England rose by less than 2.5% in 2016-17, far less than the 6% boost received by acute trusts and those providing specialist care, according to a new report by the King’s Fund.
The author Helen Gilburt, a fellow in health policy at the King’s Fund, warned that the continuing inequality in funding was preventing mental health trusts employing enough staff, which is damaging patient care.
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We’d like you to help us understand what mental health services are like in the UK. What funding issues are there? Has access to services improved or worsened? And what needs to change?
You can fill in the encrypted form below, and we’ll use a selection of responses in our reporting.
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