Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 63
63
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 164
Ensure adequate resources for frontline health and care services to deliver Right Care Right Person model.
Conclusion
If Right Care Right Person is to succeed as a national approach, it is crucial that those frontline health and care services who will be expected to step up receive the resources they need to do so. As Government makes funding settlements across these services, it must ensure that those resources are in place.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the need for resources for health and care services, noting no specific additional funding for RCRP yet but that NHS England and DHSC are refining resource estimates to potentially inform future fiscal events. It highlights existing record investment in mental health services through the NHS Long Term Plan and capital funding.
Paragraph Reference:
164
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
As the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy has set out in correspondence with the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, although there is not currently any additional funding specifically allocated to deliver RCRP, NHS England will be working closely with DHSC to refine existing national resource estimates, based on intelligence from local systems as they develop their plans for implementation. DHSC will use this intelligence to potentially inform any fiscal events next year. It is worth stating that this Government has already put record levels of investment into mental health. The NHS Long Term Plan commits an additional £2.3 billion a year for the expansion and transformation of mental health services in England by March 2024 so that an additional two million people can get the NHS-funded mental health support that they need. We are delivering £150 million capital funding for mental health urgent and emergency care. This includes funding for over 160 schemes which will provide new and improved spaces for people in mental health crisis, which in turn are expected to improve patient experience and outcomes, reduce the likelihood of inpatient admission being required and help reduce pressure on A&E departments and ambulance services. Many of these schemes will be completed by the end of 2023/24, and include new or improved crisis cafes, crisis houses and other alternatives to A&E for people nearing or experiencing mental health crisis. They also include spaces in or adjacent to A&E for people who do need hospital admission, crisis assessment and liaison centres and health-based places of safety for people detained by the police. There of course remain challenges in responding to mental health needs as demand for crisis mental health services has increased by one third since before the pandemic and doubled since 2017, but the above measures will help towards easing the pressure on mental health crisis services and contribute to a reduction in police time spent responding to mental health-related incidents.