"People with severe and enduring mental health problems can and should benefit from the chance to control their own health care budgets," Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health chief executive Angela Greatley said today.
Responding to the NHS Next Stage Review report, Angela Greatley said: "Lord Darzi has set out a far-reaching vision for the NHS. Giving people who use health services for long periods control of their own budgets can revolutionise health care in this country.
"Many mental health service users know what works for them and what doesn't. NHS commissioners should see this as a major opportunity to build the kind of services people want and need to help them to rebuild their lives. It is now vital that individual budgets are tested with people with mental health conditions as well as those with physical illnesses.
"The Next Stage Review will make a big difference to the health services we all use. The proposed new health centres could become places where people who find registering with a GP difficult, such as recently released prisoners, get the basic health care they desperately need and still frequently do not get. They can also offer much-needed expert advice and support on getting and keeping work to people with depression as well as timely access to psychological therapies.
"The review, and the draft NHS Constitution, rightly emphasise treating people with dignity and respect. This must apply just as much to people in psychiatric wards, secure units and prisons as it will to those in general hospitals.
"But this review will not by itself transform the lives of people with mental health problems. For that we need a bold new approach to mental health across government, led by a Cabinet-level champion for mental health and wellbeing."
We part of the Future Visions Coalition which recently published A New Vision for Mental Health, setting out its ideas for the future of mental health policy in England.