The Conservatives are failing to deliver on a pledge to give mental health patients the same standard of care as those with physical conditions, a former health minister has told BuzzFeed News.
Norman Lamb, who was the minister responsible for mental health in the coalition government, said research showed that new treatment standards for psychosis were not being properly delivered in most parts of the country.
And he questioned Theresa May’s commitment in her first speech as prime minister to tackle the “burning injustice” of mental health treatment – saying it “rings a bit hollow” when services are struggling with chronically low levels of funding.
Lamb, a Liberal Democrat MP, will demand answers from the government in a Westminster Hall debate on 15 March, in which more than a dozen MPs are expected to raise concerns about mental health provision in their constituencies.
The first ever NHS waiting time standards for mental health were announced, to great fanfare, by the Tory-Lib Dem government in October 2014.
At the time Simon Stevens, NHS England’s chief executive, described it as "an important moment when we will bring parity of esteem for mental health services a step closer".
One of the new standards was that 50% of people experiencing a first episode of psychosis should start an evidence-based package of treatment within two weeks of being referred.
But new research by the Lib Dems on the "early intervention in psychosis" standard suggests that only 29% of mental health trusts are able to offer patients the full package of care.
"What we discovered was, routinely across the country, most people don’t get the full treatment plan, and only half the money you need to provide the full plan is spent on this," Lamb said.
"It’s a bit like saying to someone with cancer, 'We’ll give you a month of chemotherapy but we’re not going to give you the rest of it'. That would never happen."
He blamed the "parsimonious attitude" of the Treasury, supported by Number 10.
"I think in this day and age to discriminate against people with mental health problems is intolerable, particularly when the prime minister makes big assertions, when she was first elected prime minister, about the burning injustices of people with mental ill health," Lamb said.
"Well it rings a bit hollow, to be blunt, when we see the reality exposed by the survey that we’ve done."
Lamb said he had worked well with health secretary Jeremy Hunt to make the standards happen. "I put the fault at the door of the Treasury and Number 10 ultimately," he said.
"Because whilst the whole of the NHS is under such financial strain – whatever Jeremy Hunt thinks – this won’t happen and they just have to address the overall finances in the NHS in order to ensure that money flows into mental health."
Lamb said the return on investment in the psychosis standard would be "enormous" because it would stop large numbers of people becoming long-term patients, many of whom are then on out-of-work benefits for decades.
"It’s hugely disappointing and deeply frustrating because there is such an opportunity to spend money more effectively," he said. "If we make this investment about making sure we intervene quickly and people get proper evidence-based treatment, you end up saving money.
"But by scrimping on the proper investment – because the system is under so much financial pressure and because when the chips are down, physical health always wins out – the government is presiding over a system that is failing people deeply.
"It’s so frustrating that we have this great opportunity to lead the world in treating mental health differently. They’re letting families down across the country."
Brian Dow, director of external affairs at charity Rethink Mental Illness, said: "In some ways we’ve made huge strides, and mental health has never been higher up on the political agenda.
"But although there is a commitment from the top to invest more, and there have been some tangible improvements, there is still a long way to go. Proper investment is crucial as well as expanding support and treatment we know is effective."
But a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care played down the Lib Dem survey. "This analysis gives a partial and dated picture of progress in mental health services," they said.
"More than 10,000 people each year are now receiving treatment through the early intervention in psychosis programme, with over three quarters of patients getting treatment within two weeks.
"We’re fully committed to putting mental health on the same footing as physical health – backed by a record £11.6 billion in 2016-17, with a further £1 billion on top of this by 2020-21."