Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for mental-health services for Surrey Heath residents. Demands on these services have greatly increased, particularly those involving children and young people. One in ten children and young people have a diagnosable mental-health condition, and Michael knows from his own casework that many families in Surrey Heath are badly affected.
Michael keeps in touch with the Chief Executive of Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Graham Wareham, to discuss local services in Surrey Heath. He also raises specific cases of constituents’ concerns on their behalf.
At the bottom of this page you will find a Mental Health booklet with information and advice as to how to look after your mental wellbeing. You will also find a separate booklet with advice drawn up especially for younger people who may be in need of support.
Funding
Michael has campaigned for better support for child and adolescent mental-health care, and as part of the five-year funding offer agreed in 2019, mental-health services will receive an additional £2.3 billion a year in real terms by 2023-24. This enables further service expansion and faster access to community and crisis mental-health services for both adults and young people. The Government has committed to increase mental-health spending to 8.9 per cent of all NHS funding.
In the 2021 Spending Review, Michael was encouraged to see a new investment of £150 million in NHS mental-health facilities linked to A&E. Additionally, around £300 million will be spent to complete the programme of replacing mental-health dormitories with single en-suite rooms. This is alongside investment of almost £1 billion extra in community mental-health care for adults with severe mental illness by 2023/24. This will give 370,000 adults and older adults with severe mental illnesses, including eating disorders, greater choice and control over their care and support them to live well in their communities.
In the Government’s Our Plan for Patients, published in September 2022, the Government committed to expanding mental-health support for children at school, given that half of mental-health conditions take root by the age of 14. This included a commitment to boost the number of mental-health practitioners in primary care, and to strengthen mental-health support in schools. It also included a commitment to improve access to NHS talking therapies, and to enhance community support for adults living with severe mental illnesses.
In December 2022, the Government announced £3.6 million of funding for the National Academy of Social Prescribing to support wellbeing, including impacts of loneliness. Social prescribing can help those experiencing grief, addiction, dementia and loneliness through a wide range of community-led social activities, services and opportunities that have proven benefits to people’s health and wellbeing. This can improve healthy living, as well as reduce overprescribing and save capacity for GPs.
In February 2023, Michael welcomed news that the Pioneer project in Frimley, a short-stay residential unit for children and young people in mental-health crisis, will receive £1,391,000 from the Government.
This funding follows the Government’s recent announcement that it is investing £150 million in NHS mental-health urgent and emergency care services up to April 2025. £143 million will be used to provide new and improved mental-health crisis response infrastructure. This includes schemes such as crisis cafés, houses and hubs in the community.