Mental Health Services

Debate between Lord Prior of Brampton and Lord Crisp

Thursday 28th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

It is partly a question of resource, although I point out to the noble Lord that the country that spends the most money on healthcare and has the worst results is America. It is not just a question of resource. It is how we spend it as well as the amount of money.

[Lord Crisp (CB)]

I am sure that the Minister well understands that people working in mental health see this as a very negative signal, given all that has been said before. Will he answer two questions, please? First, what would he say to people working in mental health to reassure them that the Government are still giving this level of priority to mental health? Secondly, as he has already said, these quality premiums are intended to incentivise quality. What impact does he think removing mental health from the national priorities —the national quality premium—will have on quality in mental health?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

What I would say to people in the NHS is that the Government are committed to spending a lot more money—more money than has ever been spent before on mental health—so we are putting our money where our mouth is. We are the Government who signed up, with the Liberal Democrats, to putting parity of esteem in law in the 2012 Act, and we are absolutely committed to doing that. There is no ground for thinking that we are deprioritising mental health. The quality premium that NHS England uses to focus the attention of CCGs will change every year. It had mental health in it last year; it had other issues in it this year; and I hope that it will have mental health in it next year.

Health: Adult Psychiatric Care

Debate between Lord Prior of Brampton and Lord Crisp

Monday 22nd February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Crisp]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the report Old Problems, New Solutions: Improving acute psychiatric care for adults in England.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Prior of Brampton) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government very much welcome this report and are considering its recommendations. We have asked NHS England to reduce out-of-area treatments and eliminate their inappropriate use. NHS England published its independent Mental Health Taskforce report last week, backed by a £1 billion investment announced in January. NHS England will develop standards on access to mental health treatment.

[Lord Crisp (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply, and I am delighted to see the commitment to parity of esteem between mental and physical health and to the funding allocated last week. Parity of esteem means equal standards for people with mental and physical conditions. The report recommends that requiring people to travel long distances to be treated should be phased out within 18 months, and there is evidence as to why that is a good target; and yet the Government have indicated in their response to the task force that it would take four years to phase it out. Will the Minister explain why that is and say whether there is scope for the Government to reconsider the timing?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I reiterate my thanks to the noble Lord for his excellent report: it is 134 pages and reads very well and very quickly. It is obviously highly unsatisfactory that so many people have to travel long distances to get in-patient care. The noble Lord’s report shows that, in one month—in September, I think—500 people had to travel more than 50 kilometres to get to in-patient care. It is a priority for the Government and we are considering the noble Lord’s recommendations. I cannot give a commitment that we can reduce the four years to 18 months now. I can only repeat that we fully understand the importance of addressing this issue.

National Health Service: In-Patients with Learning Disabilities

Debate between Lord Prior of Brampton and Lord Crisp

Monday 18th January 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Crisp (CB)]

My Lords, the new learning disability strategy, Building the Right Support, proposes that people with learning disabilities should get their mental health treatment from mainstream mental health services—which as noble Lords will know are already under considerable strain. Can the Minister let us know what assessment the Government have made of the likely impact that this will have on mental health services and how they envisage that the financial and other implications will be managed?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The noble Lord refers to the paper Building the Right Support, which I think he will be very supportive of. It is designed to treat and look after many more people with learning difficulties outside institutional settings—in their own homes or in special purpose, much smaller homes. Where necessary, they will of course need to receive mental health services. I am not aware that we have done a particular impact study on that, but I will investigate it and write to the noble Lord.

Health: Global Health

Debate between Lord Prior of Brampton and Lord Crisp

Monday 26th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Crisp]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the report The UK’s Contribution to Health Globally, published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health in June.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Prior of Brampton) (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate the all-party parliamentary group on producing its report. The Government are determined to maintain Britain’s strong global role and welcome the report’s suggestions as to where we can continue to play a leading role in health globally. The United Nation’s sustainable development goals provide added incentive to look critically at where we can add maximum value in improving health systems overseas.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Crisp (CB)]

I thank the Minister for that very encouraging reply. The UK is a world leader in health. This report, produced by researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, shows that we have extraordinary strength in research, education, commerce, development, the NHS and the NGO sector. Given that, does the Minister agree that it is time for the UK to develop a new global health strategy to use that all-round strength to help to improve health globally—but, at the same time, to strengthen the UK’s health, science and technology base? More specifically, does the Minister agree that the UK’s medical, nursing and healthcare schools could be supported to play an even larger role in training health workers in low and middle-income countries?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I agree with all the sentiments that the noble Lord mentioned—and, perhaps, one other, which is that in a number of other pioneering areas, such as genomics, dementia and antimicrobial resistance, the UK is very much at the forefront. The Government are following up the “Health is global” strategy that was initiated back in 2008 and will be reporting back in detail in 2016. I assure the noble Lord that we will take fully into account the findings of the all-party parliamentary group.