Simon Stevens, head of the NHS, has confirmed that he is committed to improving mental health care, after I wrote to him, along with Labour MP Luciana Berger and Lib Dem Norman Lamb.
In our letter we called on him to guarantee to the million extra people promised mental health treatment that they would not be abandoned. we wrote: "We are around two years into a five-year plan for mental health and it is vital that work continues. You would not stop helping a patient midway through their treatment and you must not stop the process of improving mental health care just because other parts of the NHS are under pressure.
As politicians from across the political spectrum, we call on the NHS England board to use Thursday’s meeting to reaffirm their commitment to people with mental health problems."
Mr Stevens replied Confirming that the National Mental Health Investment Standard, which means growth in mental health spending should be in line with overall growth in spending, will be met in 2018/19. He said: "We are continuing to prioritise mental health despite the challenging financial environment in which we are operating. We are committed to making further improvements in mental health services in the year ahead." You can read his letter here.
