ALTHOUGH the government announced earlier this week it was to plough £120 million into improving mental health services across the country, it is not yet known how much of this will find its way to Worcestershire.

The funding was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens this week as part of a five-year plan to put mental health on an equal footing with physical health services.

But a spokesman for Worcestershire’s three Clinical Commissioning Groups – the organisations responsible for arranging and paying for health services in the county – said it had not yet been determined how the funding was to be distributed.

NHS England’s national clinical director for mental health Dr Geraldine Strathdee said she hoped the new plans, which include slashing waiting times for psychological services, would transform care across the country.

“Today people who present in crisis often wait too long for an assessment and to access treatment,” she said.

“This new approach will help improve crisis care and help reduce the distress that untreated mental illness brings.

“With 75 per cent of long term mental health problems diagnosed before 18, investing in early effective treatments will pay immediate and long term dividends."