Thinktank wants greater choice for mental health patients

Thursday, 24 March 2005 12:00 AM

A leading thinktank is today calling for mental health patients to be given control of the money allocated for their treatments to give them more say in how they are treated.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) claims that patients should not miss out on the Government's plans to offer options for treatment on the NHS.

It says that "personal recovery budgets" would extend choice and lead to a more personal approach for patients.

The call comes just a day after a committee of MPs and peers criticised draft legislation that made it too easy to force people into compulsory treatment.

One in six people in the UK are affected by mental health problems, with a high proportion experiencing multiple forms of disadvantage.

Researchers argue GPs should not be the only access point to services and patients should be given their own budgets on a range of therapies, medications and support when possible.

"So far Government policy has been focused on introducing choice in elective care, such as being able to choose what hospital you attend for surgery," said researcher Jennifer Rankin.

"Mental health is a test case for the choice agenda which to date has not had much to say about being more responsive to the needs of people experiencing mental health problems."

The IPPR says that, when possible, patients should be offered a range of counselling, medication, psychological therapies and complementary medicine for their care package.

On Thursday, the Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill said the legislation could see people detained even though treatment would not help their condition; and detained compulsorily even if they were perfectly capable of making their own decisions

The Government unveiled plans this week to allow pensioners more control over how cash allocated for social care is spent.

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