Mind responds to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care's speech on NHS reform

Today, in a speech, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care laid out their vision for long-term NHS reform.

Responding to the speech, Vicki Nash, Head of Policy, Campaigns and Public Affairs at Mind, said:

“We welcome the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s ambition to give people in England greater choice and control in their care. After years of chronic underfunding and a lack of fundamental reform, many find it impossible to get the support they need for their mental health, so today’s announcement is a step in the right direction.

“Announcements today, such as better choices for the 1.5 million people facing long waiting lists for mental health treatment, and the expansion of personal health care budgets, will go some way to helping those living with a mental health condition navigate the NHS. However, Mind and others across the mental health sector will need to work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care to make sure mental health remains at the forefront of this strategy, on an equal footing to physical health. It is also still essential, if people are to get the help they need, that mental health receives the proper funding it desperately requires, and that the Secretary of State urgently makes good on his commitment to implement a cross-Government strategy for mental health that recognises the social factors that can negatively affect our mental wellbeing, such as debt, unemployment, problems with benefits and housing.”