Recession pressures ‘will increase mental health demand’
Debt, homelessness and unemployment will increase demand for mental health services, according to Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb.
Lamb was commenting on a bulletin from the NHS Information Centre which showed increasing numbers of people seeking help from mental health services in 2006-07.
“Ministers must end the neglect of mental health services,” Mr Lamb said.
The report also highlighted how black people are far more likely to be admitted to hospital compared to white people with mental health problems.
This fact brought further anger from Mr Lamb. He said: “It is also unacceptable that there are still disproportionate numbers of black and minority ethnic people in compulsory detention.”
The percentage of whites in the ‘admitted’ category was 12 per cent, but for black groups it was considerably higher, at 22 per cent.
According to the report, 40 per cent of black patients were formally detained compared to 26 per cent for all ethnic groups.
The number of people in contact with mental health services has risen from 1,079,016 in 2003-04 to 1,151,260 in 2006-07.
