Five Year Forward View for Mental Health
Debate between Jeff Smith and John Howell(6 years ago)
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Jeff Smith
The hon. Gentleman has great experience and knowledge of those issues and makes an important point. He has anticipated some of the comments I will make and I strongly agree with him.
John Howell (Henley) (Con)
We, as MPs, are among the first to come across the sort of patients the hon. Gentleman is talking about. Does he agree that training ought to be provided for MPs, so that we know how to deal with those people when they appear at our surgeries?
Jeff Smith
That is an excellent point; some training packages are available for MPs’ staff. I encourage all colleagues to take advantage of that.
The vast majority of people severely affected by mental illness will receive support within a community mental health team, which is the type of core service that provides help to around 700,000 people in England, often with quite complex needs. Although some specialist services have benefited from additional funding and targets, core services for adults severely affected by mental illness have stood still. Core community services did not receive any funding under the five year forward view, and we found that only £50 million was allocated to other core services nationally.