Today, the Chancellor has delivered his Autumn Statement. In response, Dr Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said:
“To put the NHS first, Government must begin with addressing the crippling workforce shortages. The Chancellor was right to commit today to the long overdue, independently verified workforce plan, and we look forward to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care producing a timeline for its publication.
“Mental health services are already under massive pressures with at least 1.4 million people waiting for treatment, and a further 8 million, who would benefit from care if they could actually access it.
“With 9 in 10 adults affected by the cost-of-living crisis and exposed to the potential mental health impact it can have on their lives, we urgently need £450m, which is the amount required to ensure the Government’s commitment of £2.3bn in real terms by 2023/24, just to address the gap in mental health funding caused by inflation alone.”
For further information, please contact:
- Email: press@rcpsych.ac.uk
- Twitter: @rcpsych
- Out-of-hours contact number: 07860 755896