NHS is to blame for 400 suicides a year due to failure to get a grip on epidemic

Hundreds of lives are being needlessly lost to suicide every year because of the Government’s failure to get a grip on a modern epidemic of mental health problems, a landmark report has found. The Mental Health Taskforce, set up a year ago under the leadership of Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of mental health charity Mind, blames chronic underinvestment and poor NHS management for ‘unacceptable and unaffordable’ levels of mental health problems, in terms of the ‘human and financial’ cost. Hundreds of lives are being needlessly lost to suicide every year because of the Government’s failure to get a grip on Britain's epidemic of mental health problems, a think-tank has revealed It will call on the Prime Minister to meet the ‘clear need for leadership’ to introduce vital reforms, and calls for all new Government policies to be assessed for their impact on depression and anxiety. The mental health ‘audit’ of the UK concludes: Mental illness is the largest single cause of disability, accounting for 23 per cent of NHS activity – but only six per cent of research spending; One in four adults suffer at least one diagnosable mental health problem every year; Suicides – averaging 4,477 a year over the past decade – are on the rise, and are now the leading cause of death for men aged from 15 to 49; One in ten children have a ‘diagnosable mental health problem’ and half of all adult syndromes are already established by the age of 14; One in five women fall ill psychologically in the first year after giving birth, but nearly half of local NHS groups fail to provide a service for such women; By 2020, sufferers should be able to access mental health crisis care 24 hours a day and seven days a week.