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Dismissed for asking difficult questions

This article is more than 13 years old

As a consequence of remarks attributed to me on the Guardian website on Wednesday, in which I questioned the accuracy of the government's recent psychological therapies funding announcement, I was removed on Friday from my position as a psychological therapies adviser to the Department of Health. This is extremely disappointing for someone who has been at the heart of the movement to increase access to psychological therapies from its inception, particularly as I was very heartened to see the minister Paul Burstow quoted in the same article confirming that additional monies will indeed be added to PCT baselines on top of those already allocated.

However, that is not the full story. My comments and dismissal arose because I had not received answers to three vital questions. First, to what extent is the promised money "real" and not to be met from cost pressures – the DH euphemism for cuts – elsewhere in the NHS budget? Second, what mechanisms have been put in place to ensure every penny of the money will be spent on training, employment and treatment costs for people with anxiety and depression? Finally, what systems have been put in place to ensure existing funds currently being used to provide therapy services in England are not cut as part of the cost pressure actions required of NHS commissioners and providers, as has happened in the past?

Every pound which does not appear on the table or is siphoned off to other healthcare activities is another day of distress for someone somewhere. Every one of us who has experience of these disorders requires answers and evidence, not reassurance and rhetoric. I trust that the very able team at the DH will continue to press for access and equity in psychological therapies. I am sorry I shall no longer be with them.

Dr David Richards

Exeter

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