Cost of mental health care up to 2026 - new report published
JUNE 12, 2008
Recognising the significance of mental health in terms of both expenditure and the overall health of the population, the King’s Fund commissioned a new review: 'Paying the Price; cost of mental health care up to 2026' co-authored by experts at the Institute of Psychiatry. This report presents current and projected needs for mental health services and their related costs. It gives details on a number of specific disorders, including depression, schizophrenic disorders and dementia. Paying the Price suggests that without the right level and type of investment we will all pay the price – not just in wasted resources but also in wasted lives. This report is aimed to encourage informed debate about the future nature and shape of mental health support.
The report can be purchased from the King's Fund and chapters are also downloadable from their web pages. The authors were: Paul McCrone, Sujith Dhanasiri, Anita Patel, Martin Knapp, Simon Lawton-Smith and it was published in May 2008: ISBN 978 1 85717 571 4 price £30.
Two co-authors Dr Paul McCrone and Professor Martin Knapp are based in the Institute of Psychiatry's Centre for the Economics of Mental Health (CEMH). This department is part of the Health Service and Population Research Department and evaluates the economic effectiveness of an enormous number of treatments and services designed to help people with mental health problems. These evaluations inform mental health policy-making and the allocation of resources in the UK and in other countries. Many of the Centre’s studies involve the economic evaluation of mental health services and treatments as part of a randomised controlled trial and are undertaken in collaboration with other research groups both here at the IoP and at other institutions across the world. The CEMH also carries out costing studies and develops research tools. CEMH is headed by Professor Martin Knapp and includes a number of senior academics, research workers, PhD students and visitors from other academic institutions.