The House of Lords has defeated the Government and passed an amendment to the Health & Social Care Bill that puts an explicit duty on the health secretary to put mental and physical health on an equal footing. 

Peers backed the amendment to the Bill, which was put forward by cross-bencher Lord Patel, by a margin of 4 votes. Three Liberal Democrat peers rebelled against the Government in the vote. 

Mental health organisations Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, the Mental Health Foundation, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Centre for Mental Health together welcomed the Lords' decision.  

In a joint statement they said: "Mental ill health accounts for almost a quarter of the burden of illness in the UK, affecting one person in six each year and costing society some £105 billion a year in England. Mental health care receives about 11% of the NHS budget. 

"We believe that this explicit duty on the Secretary of State should help to ensure that the Government's commitment to 'parity of esteem' between mental and physical health can be achieved at every level, from national policy to local planning in the NHS, social care services and public health. 

"As figures from The King’s Fund and Centre for Mental Health have shown, mental ill health adds some £8 billion to the costs of treating long-term conditions like diabetes and heart disease as well as dramatically increasing a patient’s risk of dying prematurely from those conditions. By integrating physical and mental health care and ensuring both get equal prominence in planning and delivering health and social services, we can not only improve the support people receive for their overall health but also save taxpayers’ money. 

"All five organisations will continue to work individually, as well as collaboratively, to ensure the Bill will improve the health and care of people facing or living with mental illness."

Paul Jenkins, CEO of the charity Rethink Mental Illness added: "Historically, mental health services have always been the poor relation within the NHS.

"We still have a long way to go before the 1 in 4 people who go through mental illness get access to the decent treatment they deserve. The stand the Lords have taken today is an extremely encouraging sign that things are heading in the right direction. We urge the government to accept this amendment and take this opportunity to help ensure the new NHS finally offers a fair deal for everyone, regardless of whether they have a physical or mental illness."

Posted 13/02/2012 by dan.parton@pavilion-interactive.co.uk