Lib Dem manifesto: equal care for mental health guaranteed

Having to express one’s love of the NHS is compulsory in political party manifestos.  And so it is there in the first line of the Liberal Democrats’ document: “Our NHS is our most treasured public service.”

Having got that out of the way, they then promise to meet the £8bn commitment by 2020 (the one the Tories have also agreed to and the one Labour hasn’t).

But over and above that, by far their most important commitment is guaranteeing equal care and support for everyone with mental health problems.

It is now widely acknowledged that the Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb has won some hard-fought battles behind the scenes to get parity of care between physical and mental health.

This is certainly the first time I can remember mental health being given such prominence in a manifesto.

But as with the other parties, there are costing issues.  To gain this parity, in a service that has been starved of cash and staff for decades, will be expensive.  There will be difficulties, too, in recruiting the necessary levels of staff to make this work.

Which makes the manifesto pledge of  “£500m a year to transform mental health care with waiting times standards” seem far too low.

The other health pledges: better access to GPs and more joined-up care are also promises made by the other parties.

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