The “promised” money for mental health care from Jeremy Hunt, is after years, by parties of all colours, of underfunding and closure of beds and services. In one major northern city when the large instittion was closed there were three new hospitals built with a total of 20 wards for in-patient care, fifteen years later these were reduced to a total of 15 wards, with very little more investment in community services. It became impossible for the trust involved to recruit consultant psychiatrists, senior nurses and senior staff in the allied professions, they also saw a huge problem in retention of staff. So it really is too little too late.
