Extra mental health cash 'must not be used to bail out other services'

In its 2017-19 planning guidance, published today, the national body said commissioners and providers must deliver in full the new mental health implementation plan, which was published in July.

It also says all areas must meet the new access and waiting time standards for improving access to psychological therapies and early intervention in psychosis, as well as the new eating disorder target which is due to come into force next year.

NHS England stressed any funding specifically for delivering the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health “must not be used to supplant existing spend or balance reductions elsewhere.”

The guidance added: “Savings arising from new services… resulting from this new investment need to be reinvested to maintain services and ensure delivery of the commitment to treat an additional 1 million people with mental illness by 2020-21.”

HSJ understands there were fears across the mental health sector any new cash invested into mental health would be used to plug acute provider deficits, but now the national body has stressed commissioners and providers will not be allowed to use it this way.

Progress against the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health is listed as one of the minimum “core baseline STP metrics”, which NHS England said will be published in November.

A pair of financial incentives have also been announced to improve care for children and young people, and patients attending A&E with mental health problems.

Mental health and acute trusts will be encouraged to improve recognition and coding of patients presenting with mental health problems to drive down repeat attendances via a new commissioning for quality and innovation payment.

A second CQUIN is intended to incentivise providers to ensure young patients have a transition plan, dedicated key worker and are involved in planning their care with their parents and carers. The payments will be available to providers where patients are transferring between organisations.

The document also states areas must commission eating disorder teams so that 95 per cent of children and young people in routine cases receive treatment within four weeks of referral, while urgent cases receive treatment within one week.

IAPT services will have to be integrated with physical healthcare from 2018-19, with 3,000 more therapists to be co-located in general practice by 2020-21.

The guidance says suicide rates will be published as part of the new mental health dashboard, which HSJ understands will be published later this month or early October.

To extend the provision of liaison psychiatry NHS England says more cash will be made available which the new A&E delivery boards will be able to bid for from next month. The document does not say how much money will be made available.

A central pot of transformation funding will be available over the two financial years, with £215m set aside for 2017-18 and £180m the following year.