Lost Generation
Early intervention in psychosis for young people.
Today, mental health charity Rethink Mental Illness published it’s findings into the cuts of early intervention services across England — a valuable resource for helping young people who are going through the early onset of psychosis and schizophrenia.
Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services help young people aged 14-35 to recover from a first episode of psychosis, and to gain a good quality of life. They support more than 10,000 young people each year.
Our report found that:
- 50% of EIP services say their budget has decreased in the past year, some by as much as 20%.
- 58% of EIP services have lost staff over the last 12 months.
- 53% say the quality of their service has decreased in the past year.
- Many young people face unacceptable delays in accessing EIP services, greatly reducing their chances of recovery.
EIP care significantly improves a young person’s prospects of recovering from psychosis. It also reduces the likelihood that they will relapse, or be detained under the Mental Health Act, potentially saving the NHS £44million each year through reduced use of hospital beds.1 Early intervention also reduces the risk of a young person taking their own life, from up to 15% to 1%.2
However, many EIP services are struggling to maintain high levels of care, and are facing an uncertain future, because of cuts to funding. Where services do exist, many young people are facing unacceptable delays in accessing care. This seriously affects their chances of recovery, and increases the likelihood of them developing a lifelong illness.
As a result, we are at risk of losing a generation of young people whose recovery from mental illness is being jeopardised — tens of thousands of young people who, with the right support, might otherwise have good quality of life and play a meaningful role in society.
To read the full report, please download a copy from our website at: