Minding the Gap: Mental Healthcare

Available for over a year

Mental health services are facing a period of unprecedented change. The Department of Health has committed itself to reducing the disparity between spending on physical and mental illness, and a new payment system means services will be funded differently in the future. In the meantime there are concerns that vulnerable patients are dying because of pressures to release them from hospital too quickly, and a failure to provide adequate support in the community. Can a new focus on what has traditionally been dubbed a 'Cinderella service' reverse the impact of years of cuts? Reporter: Adrian Goldberg Producer: Gail Champion.