According to new data issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), over one billion people globally are living with mental health disorders. Conditions such as anxiety and depression are inflicting “immense” human and economic tolls and are the second biggest reason for long-term disability.
Whilst the demand for services increases, globally responses are “insufficient and inadequate.” WHO reports that only 9% of people with depression receive adequate treatment. The cost in annual productivity losses due to depression and anxiety adds up to a whopping $1 trillion.
“Transforming mental health services is one of the most pressing public health challenges,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "Investing in mental health means investing in people, communities and economies – an investment no country can afford to neglect. Every government and every leader has a responsibility to act with urgency and to ensure that mental health care is treated not as a privilege, but as a basic right for all.”
WHO has published two reports: World Mental Health Today and the 2024 Mental Health Atlas, and urges governments, health professionals, researchers and society leaders to use the findings “to drive the transformative change we need,” calling its data “a wake-up call.”
Mental health treatment and the NHS
Last week (August 29), The King’s Fund reported on the extent to which the NHS has become reliant on beds in the independent sector for the provision of inpatient mental healthcare. NHS bed occupancy in mental healthcare remains consistently above the recommended level of 85%, putting pressure across the acute pathway and posing a risk to safety and effectiveness of care.
The King’s Fund analysis reports that in the fourth quarter of 2024/25, an additional 7,195* beds were available in the independent sector, supplementing the 17,999 available mental health beds reported by NHS Trusts (89.5% of which were occupied). According to The King’s Fund, this equates to approximately 28.6% of mental health bed capacity in England.
Writing for The King’s Fund, analyst Helen Gilburt points out that access to capital investment is a key factor influencing capacity. Whilst the NHS faces constraints in this area, the private sector is able to invest in response to market need, and whilst the focus is to increase the amount of care that is provided in community rather than hospital, there is insufficient capacity currently in those settings to reduce the demand for inpatient care. Hence Trusts and Integrated Care Systems have become dependent on the independent sector to fill the gap in NHS bed provision caused through national policy and financial constraints.
Responding to The King’s Fund report, Daniel Elkeles, Chief Executive of NHS Providers, says: "This research underlines the importance of Trusts being able to make strategic, long-term investments in their estates and facilities to deliver high quality services for their local population’s patients."
• Excluding beds allocated for the care of privately funded patients.
