Change Mental Health is relieved that the Stafford Centre and services delivered in Edinburgh by our organisation are effectively safeguarded, for the time being, following today’s decision of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB). However, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure better collaboration leading to better outcomes.

Following on from our statement in May on proposed cuts to community mental health services in Edinburgh, we have campaigned and worked tirelessly to ensure these vital services continue. We worked with partners across the Thrive Collective and made our point clear: cuts will devastate the city and shift demand onto more expensive services.

Today (26th August), the EIJB voted in favour of their proposals, which, for Change Mental Health, will include being involved in a recommissioning process.

Nick Ward, CEO of Change Mental Health, said: 

“While this is good news for the people we support, we remain clear that the proposed cuts were in themselves not needed. They represented a tiny part of the EIJB’s budget while having a significant, detrimental effect upon Edinburgh’s population.  

“The process they put in place was fundamentally flawed in its approach and presumptuous, causing unnecessary distress to both organisations and service users. It has been disheartening for the third sector to have to continually make the argument that cutting early intervention and prevention services will only ever result in greater costs in the end. 

“The fact remains that there are still significant cuts taking place to mental health services in the city and our sympathy and solidarity goes out to those charities affected. We are very disappointed and concerned that many of these cuts have been passed that disproportionately affect ethnic minorities and LGBT+ people. 

“We called for the EIJB’s proposals to be paused to allow for a full, evidence-led and co-produced redesign of services. That appears to be what will now happen and we are grateful for that. 

“We will now be a part of a crucial recommissioning exercise that can enable services to be more integrated and cost-effective through a better collaborative approach. 

“However, trust needs to be rebuilt. There needs to be full transparency and a genuine dedication to working with the third sector by the EIJB, as well as a commitment to the principles of community-based early intervention and preventative approaches. We’re here to work closely with them, along with our partners, to ensure that we can truly meet the needs of our communities.”