Sane to sue over helpline cash delay

Mental health charity Sane is preparing legal action against the
Department of Health over a delay in funding for its telephone
helpline.

Two of the charity’s three Saneline call centres – in Bristol
and Macclesfield – were expected to close at the end of March with
the loss of 100 volunteers and 12 staff because of a 12-month
funding delay by the DoH.
Chief executive Marjorie Wallace has said that Sane has been forced
to use £775,000 of cash from its reserves to keep the centres
running until March.

A Sane spokesperson said: “All we can confirm is that we are
preparing a case against the DoH.”

A DoH spokesperson said the end of the Saneline contract was
always understood to be in March. She said the charity could apply
for alternative funding from the department’s new £5m mental
health telephone helpline partnership fund.