£30 million funding for intensive psychiatric units announced

Funding of £30 million for psychiatric intensive care units
has been announced by health minister Rosie Winterton today,
writes Clare Jerrom.

The health minister said the funding was to improve local,
general psychiatric intensive care units. “We are asking
Strategic Health Authorities to tell us what pressures they are
under and we will work with them so that money is targeted
accordingly.

“We are determined to tackle and eradicate stigma,
inequalities, discrimination and the social exclusion of people
with mental health problems,” she added.

The funding was announced as the national director for mental
health Louis Appleby published a report on mental health services
in England.

Louis Appleby

The report found:-

• Most service users found their experience of mental
health care services to be positive

• Staff numbers have increased

• Specialist mental health teams have been set up across
the country offering treatment, early intervention or intensive
support for people with complex needs

The report found that although services had become increasingly
responsive to the needs of service users, more needs to be done,
for example, more needs to be done to improve the experience of
black and ethnic minority patients.

‘NSF for Mental Health – Five years on from www.dh.gov.uk ‘