In no other area of government in recent years does the promise of change so often fail to materialise than in that of mental health. This year, yet again, many extra posts promised in community services and suicide prevention remain unfilled.
Last year, it was a similar story. Money allocated to the sector in 2012 was later diverted to cover budget overruns in the rest of the health service. To date one in five of the 414 posts promised in 2012, remain unfilled. And so far none of the 477 extra professional staff due to be appointed in 2013 have taken up their posts. Mental Health Reform, a campaign group, has expressed "serious concerns" about the delay. For it creates uncertainty and anxiety for patients who are deprived of the professional services and support that they need.
The State’s approach to mental health has changed dramatically in the past two decades. Twenty years ago, a psychiatric illness usually involved institutional care, now care in the community is the norm. Soon the last remaining asylum in the country will close.
However, for those suffering with a mental illness, the success of care in the community programmes wholly depends on the adequacy of the available services. If, as has happened, the necessary financial and professional resources are not provided, then the Government will have failed in its duty of care to the mentally ill. To will the end – replacing institutional treatment with care in the community - while failing to provide the financial means to enable the new system to work, is a shameful deceit.
This newspaper in its “After the Asylum” series presented a bleak picture. It found an understaffed community mental health service in which many patients are denied the treatment and support that they are entitled to expect. At a time when mental health problems are increasing, the Government has failed not only to keep its budget promises in this regard, but also to meet a moral obligation to a vulnerable group.