NHS mental health dashboard

The NHS Mental Health Dashboard brings together key data from across mental health services to measure the performance of the NHS in delivering our ambitions set out in the NHS Long Term Plan » Mental health

The dashboard provides transparency in assessing how NHS mental health services are performing, alongside technical details explaining how mental health services are funded and delivered.

The most recent version of the dashboard includes the latest data available up to and including Quarter four of the 2023/24 financial year.

Mental health services funding and investment ambitions

The NHS Long Term Plan reaffirmed the NHS’s commitment to improve mental health care and moved towards putting it on a level footing with physical health services.

The NHS Long Term Plan continues the commitment that the increase in local funding for mental health (excluding learning disability, autism and dementia) is at least in line with the overall increase in the money available to integrated care boards (ICBs). This is called the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS).

From 2019/20 onwards, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, the NHS made a renewed commitment to continue to achieve the MHIS.

As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, the MHIS also includes a further commitment that local funding for mental health will grow by an additional percentage increment to reflect additional mental health funding being made available to ICBs (previously CCGs).

Evaluating progress on mental health funding and investment

  • since 2015/16, the NHS in England has met its commitment to achieve the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS)
  • overall, the increase in proportion of spend at ICB level on mental health (including learning disability, autism and dementia) against base allocation was achieved, increasing to 14.5% in 2023/24 from 14.0% in 2022/23, and 13.8% in 2021/22
  • spending across mental health services (specialised commissioning and ICB combined, including learning disability, autism and dementia) increased each financial year to £17.637 billion in 2023/24 from £12.51 billion in 2018/19
  • in 2023/24 total planned spend on learning disability, autism and dementia was £3.83 billion, compared to £3.28 billion in 2022/23.

Mental health service ambitions

The investment and ambitions contained in the NHS Long Term Plan were intended to expand access and deliver timely, high quality mental health support in the period up until the end of 2023/24. Further detail on the full set of ambitions is set out in the NHS Long Term Plan » Mental health

Evaluating progress in mental health services

The NHS Mental Health dashboard presents activity and implementation data for a range of NHS Long Term Plan ambitions with a summary of progress against a number of the key ambitions set out in the table below.

With significant investment in mental health services, the NHS Long Term Plan drove improvements in access and quality. However, a historic treatment gap persists.

Therefore 2024/25 is seen as a bridging year, as we recover the remaining commitments and continue the journey, building on the NHS Long Term Plan to achieve our vision.

Ambition by 2023/24 Progress in Quarter 4 (Jan-24 to Mar-24)
At least an additional 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25
accessing support via NHS funded mental health services and school or college-based Mental Health Support Teams.		 The number of under 18s receiving at least one contact with NHS funded mental health services in 2023/24 (12 month rolling metric) was 788,108, which is an additional 274, 144 contacts since the start of the NHS Long Term Plan (against a baseline of 513,964).

This is an increase on the previous quarter (749,833)

The number of 18-24 year olds receiving at least one contact with NHS funded mental health services in 2023/24 (12 month rolling metric) was 234,255, which is an additional 25,029 since the start of the NHS Long Term Plan (against a baseline of 209,951).

This is an increase on the previous quarter (228,683)

The 18-24 proportion of the commitment has been achieved in 23/24.  Systems are advised to focus on meeting the 0-17 element of the commitment in 24/25.
CYP eating disorder waiting times – achieve and maintain standard of 95% in Q4 2023/24 74.9% of children and young people with an eating disorder started urgent treatment within one week, an increase on previous quarter (63.8%).

For non-urgent cases 78.9% started treatment within four weeks, a slight decrease on the previous quarter (79.4%).
Specialist perinatal mental health service access to reach 66,000 In 2014, fewer than 15% of localities provided specialist PMH services for women with complex or severe conditions at the full level recommended in NICE guidance, and more than 40% provided no service at all. Since April 2019, there has been a specialist community perinatal mental health service in every ICS area of England.

In Q4 2023/24, access to specialist perinatal mental health services, including Maternal Mental Health Services, increased to 58,303 women, which is an increase from 54,822 Q3 2023/24.
475,000 people to receive access to NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression (formerly IAPT)

75% of patients to be seen within six weeks

 The number of patients accessing services was 326,975 in Q4 2023/24. This is an increase compared to access achieved in Q3 2023/24 (309,662).

Of those that accessed the service in Q4 2023/24, 92.2% started treatment within six weeks. This is an increase from 90.6% in Q3 2023/24.
Access to community mental health services for adults and older adults with serious mental illness

1. Increase overall access year on year

2. 370,000 patients to access new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care
annually

 Overall access to community mental health services (transformed and traditional) for adults and older adults was 1,322,577 in 2023/24.

This is an increase on the previous rolling 12-month quarter (1,254,557 in Jan 23 – December 23).

Access to just new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care was 599,856 in 2023/24.

This is an increase on the previous rolling 12-month quarter (590,388 in Jan 23 – December 23).
390,000 annual physical health checks for patients with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) The number of physical health checks for those with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) has increased to 361,210 this quarter, up from 292,719 in Q3 2023/24
24/7 crisis care via NHS111 #MH
option		 The NHS has achieved all its crisis care commitments, providing individuals with access to 24/7 age-appropriate crisis care via NHS 111 #MH option, comprehensive crisis resolution home treatment services for adults, continuous provision for children and young people and a range of alternative crisis services.
100% coverage of 24/7 crisis provision for CYP which combine crisis assessment, brief response and intensive home treatment functions At the end of 23/24, there was 88% coverage of the four components of a comprehensive crisis service. Continuing the expansion of CYP crisis services across the country remains a national priority in 24/25. This increased from 76% in 2022/23 and 26% in 2019/20.

NHS Mental Health Dashboard