To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Our ref: DE00000459464
Dear Ms Speers,
Thank you for your email of16 November to the Department of Health requesting, under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, various details about mental health. Your request has been passed to me for reply.
Specifically, you asked:
1) How much is spent on severe mental illness?
2) How much is spent on the carers of this group of people?
3) How does the cost of keeping such patients in care (hospital or other) compare with patients being kept at home?
1. The Department holds data on overall spending on mental illness but does not collect separate information on how much is spent on treating severe mental illness. Since 2001/02, total planned investment in adult mental health services has increased by 50 per cent (or £2billion), putting in place the services and staff needed to transform mental health services. Total planned investment increased from £5.530 billion in 2007/8 to £5.892billion in 2008/9, a 6.6 per cent increase in the amount, and 4.0 per cent in real terms.
Most treatment for mental health problems occurs in primary care settings, where information on the number of patients treated for specific conditions like schizophrenia is not routinely collected by GPs. Approximately one in six adults in England has a common mental illness, like anxiety or mild depression at any given time, with one in four adults experiencing mental ill heath at some stage in their lives. Approximately one in 100 people are thought to have a severe mental illness.
The responsibility for providing all NHS services, including mental health treatments, rests with Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). PCTs decide upon spending levels for specific healthcare treatments and services and commission these services.
2. The Government supports carers through the Carer's Grant, which is worth £224million in 2008/09. We do not collect separate data on how much is spent on carers of people with severe mental illness.
3. The Department holds some data on the cost of caring for people with a severe mental illness.
The daily rates for in-patient care for people with mental health problems are as follows:
•
acute NHS services for people with mental health problems: £201 per inpatient day;
•
long stay NHS services for people with mental health problems: £181 per inpatient day;
•
NHS psychiatric intensive care unit: £528 per inpatient day.
(Source: Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2006, Personal Social Services Research Unit,
We also hold data relating to the cost of providing treatment for people with a severe mental illness outside of hospital settings. Data held by the Department shows that £463.5million was invested in mental health teams responsible for this area in 2008/9; an 11 per cent increase from 2007/8 levels (£418.1million) in real terms.
If you have any queries about this response, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
I hope this reply is helpful. If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your original letter and should be addressed to:
Head of the Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health
Room 317
79
SW1A 2NS
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxx.xxx.xx
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Department. The ICO can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely,
Aimee Gasston
Freedom of Information Officer
Department of Health