Revealed: The mental health trusts with the biggest income cuts

Our data shows more than half of the providers saw a real terms funding decrease during this period.

It shows wide variation between trusts - with some seeing double digit reductions - due to a combination of commissioners cutting investment, and services being transferred to alternative providers.

Others have seen investment rise but overall, the sector saw a reduction in funding equal to £253m at 2013-14 prices.

The 10 trusts with the largest decrease in funding

Bradford District Care Trust said it saw transfers of social care, mental health and learning disability services to non-NHS providers.

Oliver Shanley, deputy chief executive of Hertfordshire Partnership University Foundation Trust, which saw a real terms income drop of 13 per cent and an 18 per cent reduction in beds, said it had transformed its services as its financial challenge emerged.

This included day treatment centres, 72 hour intensive assessments and investment in new facilities and improved community based teams.

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But he added: “We have got to a point where it is really hard now and it’s difficult to see what the next steps will be.

“When I talk to colleagues elsewhere in the country there are some real signs of concern. There now has to be a very serious debate nationally about the continued funding of mental health and learning disability services.”

A spokeswoman for West London Mental Health Trust said: “Like all NHS trusts we are seeking to make efficiency savings as part of the government’s national target to save £20 billion in the NHS. We have seen our income change as a consequence of the net position of achieving 4 per cent efficiency with a 2.5 per cent inflation assumption.

“Our income is also affected by changes in the commissioning of services. The Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder service was decommissioned during these years, which reduced our annual income by around 5 per cent.”

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough FT saw funding cut by 10 per cent.

Trusts with the largest number of beds lost

Chess Denman, the trust’s medical director, said: “There is no doubt we have been required to make substantial savings in recent years, and that situation is likely to continue for some time yet.

“The block funding of mental health services, as well as the application of a greater tariff deflator to mental health trusts than acute hospitals have had to face, have both worked against funding decisions being able to move towards greater parity of esteem for mental health patients.

“Additionally, the severe cuts in local authority funding have had a disproportionately large effect on our patient group.

“Earlier this year NHS England named this area as one of the 11 most challenged health economies in the country, and we need all those with an interest in our services to call for fairer future funding from government for the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.”

Trusts that lost the largest number of nurses