Mental health is the single largest element of programme budget spending in the NHS. The NHS in England spends over £6 billion per year on adult mental health services. £1.4 billion is spent on adult mental health inpatients and a further £276 million is spent on crisis resolution and home treatment teams.
In 2010 the Audit Commission published Maximising resources in adult mental health which found large variations in the use of inpatient beds, bed days and spending on crisis resolution and home treatment teams, even after adjusting for the needs of different populations. Following this report the Commission worked with the NHS Confederation and the National Mental Health Development Unit to produce Efficiency in mental health services. This report which focused on how organisations can use benchmarked data to improve the efficiency of the acute care pathway.
Managing finances in mental health, published in 2006, found that mental health trusts performed better than trusts in the acute sector in terms of financial standing, although there were still areas of financial management which needed improving. This report highlighted the financial issues mental health trusts faced and made practical recommendations for strengthening financial management, supported by examples of notable practice.
The Commission has also produced studies looking at mental health services for children (Children in mind,1999) and people over 65 (Forget me not, 2000 and update Forget me not 2002, and Losing time: Developing mental health services for older people in Wales 2002).
The Commission no longer undertakes specific work in mental health.