The Government’s health white paper expected Monday 19th July is set to propose a massive shake up of NHS mental health services, stripping PCTs of the power to commission secondary services and handing it instead to GPs.

But mental health charity Rethink discovered that only 31% of GPs feel equipped to take on the role for mental health. While three quarters of GPs say they can take responsibility for diabetes and asthma services, less than a third felt the same for mental health services.

Rethink is concerned that unless there’s a national plan to up-skill GPs in mental health many of the 1.5 million people with severe mental illnesses may fail to get the treatment they need. 

Paul Jenkins, Chief Executive of Rethink, said: “GPs with a real interest in mental health can play an invaluable role in supporting more than a million and a half people with severe mental illness. But we often hear from people with mental illness, that GPs don’t understand mental health and want to quickly refer them on to specialists. Now GPs themselves are telling us that they have concerns too.

Visit the Rethink website for the full report here.

Read Tracy McVeigh's article in the Observer, 18th July 2010 here.