New hiring plans announced to improve NHS mental health care

The NHS mental health workforce is set to be greatly expanded under new plans announced by the Department of Health.

A total of 1.3 billion pounds of additional funding has been pledged, with the aim of treating an extra one million patients by 2020-21, integrating mental and physical health services for the first time, and providing 24/7 access to mental health care.

The government plans aim to create 2,000 additional nursing, consultancy and therapy posts in child and adolescent mental health services, with 2,900 additional therapists and allied health professionals hired to offer expanded access to adult talking therapies.

Meanwhile, 4,800 additional posts will be created for nurses and therapists working in crisis care settings, with 4,600 being nursing positions.

To achieve this, improvements to how employers retain their existing mental health staff will be made, with a Return to Practice to encourage some of the 4,000 psychiatrists and 30,000 trained mental health nurses not substantively employed by the NHS to return to the profession, among other measures.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "These measures are ambitious but essential for delivering the high performing and well-resourced mental health services we all want to see."

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