Tackling mental health risks in Manchester

Mental health provision in Manchester needs more money to operate safely, yet authorities are trying to cut the service, reports Counterfire.

Early Intervention in Psychosis staff from Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) started two more days of operations on Friday (8 November) and again on Monday (11 November). This is a constitutional debate about unsafe working conditions and low wages.

Unison and Unite strikers at the polls on Friday spoke of GMMH allowing dangerously low levels of staffing in First Aid groups. This puts a lot of pressure on staff and means that the needs of unhealthy service users cannot be adequately met. This is very worrying but especially because of the increase in mental illness across the country.

They also address wider issues in GMMH’s Community Mental Health provision, such as:

• It stops at vacant jobs and over-reliance on temporary agency and bank staff, without consistent supervision.
• The same authorities and commissioners who want to improve services, refuse to pay for skilled workers who need these services.
• Multi-million pound cost reduction projects across GMMH services.
• Up to £30 million a year in off-site hospital beds goes directly into the pockets of private healthcare companies. This is due to a lack of public provision and a significant reduction in GM NHS mental health beds from 2020.

Greater Manchester Mental Health is aware of the major issues in Primary Care services and has pledged further funding ‘wired in’. Unfortunately, they failed to provide this. Moreover, since the industrial action began (there was a first one-day strike on October 16), they have not met with the strikers and their union representatives.

Union representatives met the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, on Thursday 7 November, who said he would look into the matter.

The workers plan to go on strike until their demands are met. Requirements include:

• there is a lot of investment in the Manchester EIS, so the funding is consistent with the NHS England staffing calculator. This is what the actual evidence says is needed (and the final figure was £1.03 million). This is the equivalent of the national funding that was earmarked for the Manchester EIS but was not received.
• a major investment in Manchester’s Community Mental Health teams. GMMH and The Integrated Care Board (ICB) which oversees funding for GMMH (and Greater Manchester) are currently in special measures. They have been told by NHS England to pay back millions in so-called ‘debts’. Campaigners are calling on Andy Burnham, politicians and anyone in power, to help tackle the funding crisis and ensure these vital NHS mental health services get the investment they urgently need.

So it is important that as many people as possible support the strike action. The attackers are now looking at ways in which supporters can help them put more pressure on GMMH and the financial institution.

The workers were back on strike on Monday 11 November. Check the Unison Greater Manchester Mental Health Facebook page to keep up to date with developments.

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