Access · United Kingdom
Rethink Mental Illness: people are eight times more likely to wait over 18 months for mental health treatment than for physical health
New analysis of NHS data highlights the structural gap between physical and mental health care delivery in England.
The charity Rethink Mental Illness's analysis of NHS data found that the number of people waiting more than 18 months for mental health treatment vastly outpaces the equivalent figure for physical health — by a factor of roughly eight to one.
The figures sit awkwardly alongside the UK government's parity-of-esteem commitments and are likely to shape the 2025 NHS workforce planning conversation. Rethink uses the data to argue for ringfenced mental health funding inside the next NHS settlement.
Read Rethink's full release for the source data and policy asks.
Mental Hum is a reading list, not a publisher. The summary above is our own editorial framing; the reporting and analysis live at the source.
If reading this brought something up for you —
Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. See all crisis resources.