‘With a General Election on the horizon, there is an opportunity for all parties to set out how they plan to tackle the scale of need.’

The economic and social costs of mental health in England soared to £300 billion in 2022, up from £119 billion in 2020, and £77 billion in 2003. This was the finding of new research from the Centre for Mental Health and commissioned by the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network.

The overall costs of mental ill health equate to double the NHS’s entire budget of £153bn in England in 2022. Shockingly, the costs are also similar to the estimated impact of Covid-19 on the UK economy in 2020 (£260bn in 2020 prices).

The economic costs, including unemployment, staff turnover, sickness days and presenteeism, equated to £110bn. The human costs in terms of wellbeing and reduced quality of life, were found to be £130bn, and the health and care costs £60bn.

The authors of The Economic and Social Costs of Mental Ill Health say that the new figures demonstrate the urgent need for action to turn the tide on rising poor mental health. They warn that failing to act could lead to even higher costs that no government can afford to ignore.

Following the publishing of the report, Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, said that the research adds to the “growing list of evidence showing this crisis is too big to ignore.”

“The government can no longer bury its head in the sand about the need for action.

Dr Hughes spoke of how the lingering impacts of the pandemic and ongoing cost-of-living crisis is continuing to take their toll on people.

“With a General Election on the horizon, there is an opportunity for all parties to set out how they plan to tackle the scale of need. All the evidence points to the need for a genuinely cross-government approach to mental health which would look to prevent problems before they arise, tackle longstanding inequalities as well as put in place the support so that everyone with mental health problems can get the help they need, when they need it,” she added.

Andy Bell, chief executive for the Centre for Mental Health, reiterated calls for cross-party collaboration.  

“A pound sign can never fully reflect the suffering caused by mental ill health. But these figures signal an urgent need for the government, and all political parties at the next election, to prioritise the public’s mental health. This is like a pandemic happening every year. Inaction is not an option. A comprehensive, long-term cross-government plan is needed to reduce these costs and build a mentally healthier nation.”

Through years of austerity, the Tories have been criticised for making ‘life intolerable’ for people with mental health conditions. As of September 2023, more than 1.8 million people were on the waiting list for mental health services. At the time, Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy, NHS Providers, warned that not enough staff and resources was making it “impossible for hard-working but overstretched services to care for more people more quickly and combat deep-rooted racial and other inequalities.

“The pressure on mental health services demands long-term investment in and support for prevention and early intervention.”

Yet despite the warnings, in the King’s Speech in November, the Conservatives shelved a bill to reform the Mental Health Act. The reforms were key Tory manifesto commitments in both 2017 and 2019. The axing of the long overdue overhaul to the Act attracted criticism from charities, opposition parties and Conservatives. Sir Charles Walker, a Tory MP, said the most vulnerable mental health patients have been failed by the government. One charity accused the government of ‘betrayal.’

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward

Comments are closed.