Poor mental health cost society £300 billion in one year, new research claims

Poor mental health cost society £300 billion in 2022 – the equivalent of double the NHS budget, according to new research.

The figure covers economic costs such as sickness absence, human costs including reduced quality of life and wellbeing, and health costs such as care, the Centre for Mental Health said.

The NHS Confederation’s mental health network, which commissioned the centre to carry out the research for the year 2022, said it shows that a failure to invest in early mental health help is a “false economy” which is making the country poorer and “causing unspoken anguish” to those affected.

The report’s authors said the majority of costs stemming from mental ill-health fall on sufferers and their families – amounting to some £175 billion.

The researchers said their study incorporates for the first time some of the wider costs, including the impact of presenteeism – whereby someone experiencing mental health difficulties attends work but is less productive due to impaired cognitive function and emotional distress.

The report stated: “While it is impossible to fully assess the extent of the problem, and a pound sign is admittedly an imperfect proxy for some of the impacts, there is nevertheless value in estimating the economic cost of mental ill-health.

“It helps us to appreciate the significance of mental ill-health as an issue deserving of policy attention, investment and reform.”

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Source: The Independent, 27 March 2024