Prioritising mental health
We want public services to reflect the importance of mental health in their planning, putting it on a par with physical health. So we are:
- making better access to mental health services and shorter waiting times a priority for NHS England
- making reducing mental health problems a priority for Public Health England, the new national public health service
- making mental health part of the new national measure for well-being, so it’s more likely to be taken into account when government creates policy
- providing £400 million between 2011 and 2015 to give more people access to psychological therapies – including adults with depression, and children and young people
- providing up to £16 million of funding over 4 years for Time to Change, the campaign against mental health stigma and discrimination
We have also set up a task force to recommend who to improve mental health services for children and young people. The task force will publish its findings in spring 2015.