Long term historic postcode lottery for Mental Health still exists.
In 2018/19 the NHS in Kent & Medway spent £266m on Mental Health or– 11.3% of its whole NHS budget of £2.3 billion. This is equivalent to £143.68 per head or approx £12 a month spent on Mental Health alone. This was the 4th joint lowest spend on Mental Health in the country.
Mental health services have been underfunded for decades, resulting in poor quality services and long waiting times for treatments. In 2016, the NHS committed to investing £1.6bn in these services by 2020/21, and a further £2.3bn a year by 2023/24 as part of its Long Term Plan.
The 2018/19 NHS digital data shows significant variation, with some areas of England having spent almost half per person on mental health compared to other places as the interactive map below shows
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The areas of greatest concern in 2018/19 included: Kent and Medway; Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin; Gloucestershire; Somerset; Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire; and Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West which all failed to meet the national average.
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Some areas of England invested more in mental health – with South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw committing more than £220 per person per year/£18 per person per month in 2018/19. Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (£208 per head per year/£17.33 per head per month/16 per cent of budget) and North Central London (£205 per head/£17.09 per head per month/16 per cent of budget).
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