Mental Health Targets Not Being Met
In April 2016 the Government promised to give mental health referrals the same priority as cancer referrals, this being 2 weeks.
Freedom of information figures infer that nearly a quarter of all clinical commissioning groups across England are ignoring this referral target. NHS England has responded by confirming that they will be looking into investing more money into these services in order to meet the demand.
The referral target requires that any patient experiencing their first episode of psychosis, aged between 14 and 65, should receive treatment within 2 weeks of the referral being made.
The freedom of information request was sent to the 209 Clinical Commissioning Groups in England, only 170 of these groups responded to the request. Out of those groups that did respond, 23% of them confirmed that they do apply the 2 week referral target, but only to those aged 14-35. More than 75% of the groups that apply the target have no plans to extend it to 65 years old.
The referral is for intensive treatment, also known as early intervention in psychosis (EIP), which includes giving support to patients from a variety of healthcare professionals, including social workers, mental health nurses and psychiatrists. This support should match the best practice guidance laid down in the NICE Guidelines.
Documents seen by the BBC suggest that the majority of the mental trusts in England were unable to confirm whether their particular package is delivered in line with the NICE Guidelines.
It has been estimated by NHS England that the cost to the NHS of EIP would be in the region of £8250 per year, per patient. Approximately 64% of the clinical commissioning groups that replied to the freedom of information request could not say how much they were spending on this treatment. On average 29% of the groups were spending below the recommended £8250 per patient.
Previous studies have concluded that early treatment intervention can improve educational attainment, physical health and job opportunities.
A representative from NHS England confirmed that there will be extra funding for 10% more people to be treated within the 2 week proposed referral from 2017-2018, increasing to £70 million per year by 2020-2021.