Trust welcomes new national agency for mental health

Care services minister Phil Hope has today announced that a new agency to ensure national mental health policies bring about real improvements for patients and carers, will start work on 1st April. South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust welcomes the agency, called the National Mental Health Development Unit and the extra support it will bring.

The change follows a review of mental health service delivery, taking into account Lord Darzi’s NHS Next Stage Review and the need for more personalised services.

The Trust is behind the new Development Unit as it will support the organisation in the delivery of new mental health policies and key mental health projects such as: • improving access to talking therapies; • promoting equalities in mental health services for different groups, based on race, gender and age; • promoting social inclusion and social justice for people with mental health problems; • promoting well-being and mental health for the whole population; and • supporting effective mental health commissioning.

The Trust’s chief executive Steven Michael said "The Trust is continually improving local care and the support of the National Mental Health Development Unit will be invaluable in helping us to carry on making real improvements. It is important to us to translate national policy into good practice that makes a difference to local people who use our specialist services and this new agency will support us in doing that effectively. "

He continued, "Problems with mental health are just as important as problems with physical health, and shouldn’t be neglected. 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem in the course of a year and having the support of a dedicated agency will make sure that those people get the quality of care they need. We look forward to working with the National Mental Health Development Unit over the coming months."