10 Million Being Let Down By Mental Health Prevention Plans

A new report by the Mental Health Foundation, Planning for Prevention, has highlighted that an estimated 10 million people across England – almost 1 in 5 of the country’s population – are living in areas where local plans for improving the public’s mental health are insufficient. The charity points to a failure of the UK government to properly support the bodies responsible for these plans over the last two years.

Set up in their current form in 2022 as part of the Health and Care Act, Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are designed to enable a more joined-up approach between different parts of England’s health system, such as the NHS and the voluntary sector. However, following an evaluation of England’s 42 ICSs, the Mental Health Foundation has concluded that around 18% of the population of the country is being let down by their local ICS’s plans to address poor mental health.

Despite strong evidence for taking a preventative approach to mental health problems, which cost the UK more than £118 billion a year  most plans put forward by ICSs (known formally as Joint Forward Plans) require significant work on addressing mental health prevention. Only six plans across the entirety of England were evaluated to be “excellent” by the Mental Health Foundation, 28 had “good features” but lacked detail, and eight were “poor.”

The report highlights that where plans are weaker, it is often not due to a lack of desire on the part of ICSs themselves. ICSs are tasked with tackling complex public health problems but are often under resourced and do not have the wider infrastructure to act effectively. The vast majority of problems with their plans can only be resolved through action from the UK government to give ICSs the resources and structure necessary to unlock their potential in addressing poor mental health.

In light of its findings, the Mental Health Foundation has made a series of recommendations to improve how ICSs approach mental health prevention. These include suggestions for how ICSs can produce effective plans for public mental health improvement and share best practice, and calling on the UK government to create a national infrastructure for mental health and wellbeing, and provide better funding for prevention.

Mark Rowland, CEO of the Mental Health Foundation, said:
“At a time when our mental health services are under huge strain, England’s Integrated Care Systems can play a revolutionary role in addressing the mental health crisis through prevention.  While our report has highlighted positive planning among some ICSs, almost one in five people in England are living in areas where very limited planning exists for protecting and improving the public’s mental health. Given the huge social and economic costs of mental ill health, it must be a priority of every ICS to have adequate plans in place to address its causes.”

“However, responsibility cannot be placed solely at the feet of ICSs, which are all too often being let down themselves by both a lack of resources and the wider infrastructure they are a part of. There are many hardworking healthcare professionals doing their best in tough circumstances, and it should be lauded that some have managed to deliver good plans despite poor support from the centre to do so.”

“The new UK government needs to undertake work urgently to unlock the potential of ICSs in this space. Our report lays out exactly how ICSs can improve mental health in their areas, and how central government can support them to do so. We recognise this structure for the health sector is in its infancy, and so we hope the findings we put forward are used constructively by both ICSs themselves, and decision makers in government. Ultimately, a greater focus on mental health prevention will deliver better value for money, and better outcomes for individuals at risk of poor mental health.”

Read the full report and recommendations on the Mental Health Foundation’s website.