Government's mental health plan for high streets branded 'meaningless' by union - unless enough workers recruited to staff them
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By Henry Riley and Angela Wormald
The Government’s plans to move mental health services into high streets have been branded “meaningless” by a union unless enough workers are recruited to deliver care.
Earlier this week, it was announced a raft of new mental health centres are to open in libraries, banks and other high street locations across England in a bid to get people “support earlier closer to home”.Officials also announced that more people in a mental health crisis will be given specialist care in dedicated mental health emergency departments, rather than waiting in busy A&Es.Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that the new centres will be a “lifeline” for the thousands of people who are waiting “months” for help.However, the Psychotherapy and Counselling Union has told LBC while it welcomed the proposed overhaul of mental health provision in England, the £343 million package did not appear to be new funding.Officials said the money formed part of a funding package running from 2024 to 2029, rather than a fresh cash injection from the Department of Health.
The PCU are demanding three terms of the Health Secretary which it says are needed for the new mental health care plans for the high street to succeed and to prevent 'overloading' the existing 'already overloaded valuable workforce'.They stated firstly the government must protect pay, terms and conditions for workers and warned against outsourcing the work. Secondly they called for more frontline workers rather than a 'massive organisational reshuffle' of existing personnel and their final warning to Yvette Cooper was there must be a 'a true redesign of care' as a 'one size fits all' approach would not work.A spokesperson said: "We are seeking firm assurances that these redistributed services will not be put out to competitive commercial tender. Subjecting mental health contracts to corporate bidding wars will trigger a race to the bottom, squeezing workers' wages and eroding the employment terms of our highly qualified members."Read more: Wetherspoons bans Meta Glasses in pubs amid privacy concernsRead more: Girl, 11, found dead in woodland river after searchThey added: "Relying on the redeployment of existing personnel or simply absorbing the recently employed 8,500 new staff into a massive organisational reshuffle is merely a temporary sticking plaster. Genuine progress requires a clear net expansion of frontline professional numbers to prevent overloading an already exhausted valuable workforce."A true redesign of care must utilise the wide variety of therapeutic modalities that our members offer. Patients deserve comprehensive tailored support that respects expertise, not a limited cost-limited approach that minimises patient choice . One size does not fit all ."
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Liz Martin, General Secretary, Psychotherapy and Counselling Union said: "The PCU believe that the therapeutic voice must be at the absolute heart of this strategy. "I am therefore requesting an urgent meeting with the Health Secretary to discuss how we can work together to protect workforce standards and deliver the support so many adults and children in our communities desperately need."
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A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Our £343 million investment in community mental health centres will deliver the biggest redesign of mental health services in a generation, with 159 new centres bringing specialist support directly into communities and dedicated crisis care outside of A&E.“In total, we are investing a record £16.1 billion into mental health services this year, and we have recruited more than 8,500 additional mental health workers since this Government came into office. "And later this year, our Mental Health Strategy will outline how we plan to future-proof the mental health system, including responding earlier and reducing waiting times for support.”
