People in need of urgent support will be seen within a day under ambitious new NHS plans to improve mental health waiting times.
Emergency patients will be seen by specialist teams within an hour of an A & E referral, while those facing ‘non urgent’ problems will be given help within four weeks, the targets claim.
The proposals to improve timely access to care are likely to raise eyebrows among patients stuck on record-breaking waiting lists amid a major backlog from the Covid pandemic, which has put enormous strain on the health service.
NHS England officials say they have received ‘widespread support’ for the new targets following a consultation.
The service is now working on how to achieve the targets before making them official.
The national mental health director for the NHS in England, Claire Murdoch, explained: ‘The proposed new standards are good news for patients and if agreed will ensure they get timely access to mental health services, when they need them most.
‘Laying out the next steps for implementing these new proposals will be another key milestone in the journey to putting mental health on an equal footing with physical health, so-called “parity of esteem”.’
Maps reveal how much of London would be vapourised in a nuclear attackMental health minister Gillian Keegan, added: ‘Improving access to mental health services is a top priority.
‘These new standards would help patients get support faster – including having a face-to-face assessment within one hour of being referred from A&E.’
The NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network welcomed the announcement but warned that just setting targets ‘will not lead to improvements’.
The network’s chief executive Sean Duggan said: ‘While the targets in themselves won’t lead to improvements, they will increase transparency for patients and the wider public, allow NHS teams to measure their progress, and they can help shine a brighter light on the need for more targeted resources for services.’
Charities also backed the move.
‘If achieved, these changes would provide people needing support with their mental health with the rapid help they require’, the chief executive of Mind, Paul Farmer, added.
‘Too often mental health support isn’t there as quickly as it’s needed, but with these targets, as well as greater transparency when they are missed, much needed change can be brought about.’
Mark Winstanley, the chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness, also paid tribute to the move but called for more resources to help ease waiting times and growing demand, alongside ‘a wider and comprehensive cross government plan on mental health.’
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