Abstract
Demands on our mental health services are growing as financial pressures increase. In addition, there are regular changes to service design and commissioning. The current political mantra is ‘more and more, of better quality, for less and less, please’. We suggest that mental health services need to actively respond to these constraints and that clinical transformation is needed to move towards a more sustainable system of healthcare. Emphasis on prevention, patient empowerment and leaner, greener services is required alongside more extensive use of technologies. Focusing on these areas will make mental health services more responsive to the challenges we face and serve to future-proof psychiatry in the UK. Services need to be delivered to provide maximum benefit to the health of our patients, but also to our society and the environment.
Highlights
Meeting these carbon reduction targets will require a transformation in the way mental health services are designed, delivered and evaluated, as the main source of the carbon footprint of a health service is not its buildings or energy use but factors relating to clinical practice.[18]
In the first 2 years after the end of Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) the benefits per person treated include the extra gross domestic product produced of around £1200, National Health Service (NHS) savings in physical and mental health service usage of £300, and reduced suffering equating to quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) worth £3300
Developing a sustainable approach to our clinical practice in mental health is a crucial step in ensuring mental health services will continue to provide high-quality care in the 21st century
Summary
Patient empowerment and leaner, greener services is required alongside more extensive use of technologies Focusing on these areas will make mental health services more responsive to the challenges we face and serve to future-proof psychiatry in the UK. Four principles of sustainable healthcare have been identified:[3] prevention; patient empowerment; lean service delivery; and preferential use of low-carbon technologies (such as telecare or remote monitoring of patient symptoms using smartphone apps). Widespread implementation of these principles will ensure mental health services maintain high-quality standards despite ongoing constraints. SPECIAL ARTICLE Yarlagadda et al Sustainable psychiatry in the UK mental health services, but provides an overview, with the hope of encouraging sustainable thinking among mental health professionals
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