Jeremy Hunt to 'create 21,000 new NHS posts' as part of mental health expansion

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Claiming the Government is embarking on the “biggest expansions of mental health services in Europe", the Department of Health said the new fund would properly integrate mental and physical health services for the first time. Under the plans the number of trained nurses, therapists, psychiatrists, peer support workers and other mental health professionals will be “dramatically” increased, with 21,000 new posts under the plan, according to the Health Department. “These measures are ambitious, but essential for delivering the high performing and well-resourced mental health services we all want to see.” Janet Davies, the chief executive of RCN, claimed Mr Hunt’s new policy appeared “not to add up”, adding: “If these nurses were going to be ready in time, they would be starting training next month. Citing the Government’s cut to mental health services in recent years, Paul Farmer, the chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, while welcoming the proposal, added: “A damaging lack of foresight in workforce planning in the past has led us to where we are now, with a significant gulf between what’s in place and what’s needed to deliver good quality care.