Paul Burstow: It's time to end the NHS bias against mental health

Paul Burstow, who has been notably and valuably outspoken since being sacked as a health minister last year, had an article in the Daily Telegraph this morning calling for mental health to be as much a spending priority as physical health is.

He wrote:

Mental health has traditionally been vulnerable in the NHS – the last to benefit in times of plenty and the first to suffer when things get tough. 

And depressingly, in 2011/12 spending fell by 1%. Crisis resolution and assertive outreach both saw reduction, and while half the country protected spending, the other half made deep cuts. This is short sighted penny pinching that is condemning people to a lifetime of mental ill health.

However, Paul did welcome the anti-stigma Time to Change campaign, the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme and the new recovery colleges that are being piloted.

In the article Paul announced that he will be chairing a commission set up by Centre Forum to examine the state of mental health care provision in England.