Stafford Centre – still facing massive cuts to funding
The home of Change Mental Health is just one of those third sector bodies which is threatened with a massive cut in funding by the Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board (EIJB).
Along with others affected Mr Briggs warned earlier this year that the cuts, proposed to save £60m+ by the EIJB, could make Edinburgh the only city in Western Europe without third sector community mental health provision.
The MSP has written to both the Chief Officer of the EIJB and the First Minister, as well as raising the issue in parliament on several occasions.
Last month Miles Briggs attended a public meeting hosted by the Thrive Collective to discuss the impact of the cuts with providers and users of mental health services. The Thrive Collective provides community mental health services through charities such asChange Mental Health.
Nick Ward, CEO of Change Mental Health, has strongly criticised the approach taken by the EIJB, highlighting the flaws in both the economic and clinical rationale behind the cuts.
The City of Edinburgh Council announced £3 million of emergency funding in May for third sector services facing cuts. Change Mental Health did not feature on the list of 46 organisations which will receive this support.
Mr Briggs has previously said that the funding formula used to allocate money to NHS boards, NRAC, was not fair to the Lothian region. NHS Lothian has consistently received less funding each year than population growth would require, according to the government's own funding formula (NRAC).
He pointed out that the shortfall for 2024/25 is more than £10m, exacerbating a £150m shortfall over the last ten years.
Lothian has the fastest growing population in Scotland, currently circa 916,000, and will represent 84% of Scotland's predicted population growth over the period to 2033. However, its funding remains at -0.6% below NRAC parity.
Miles Briggs said: 'I'd like to thank the Change Mental Health team for inviting me to the Stafford Centre. It was fantastic to meet all the staff and chat to some of the users of this amazing service.
'This space means a lot to the people who come here. I share their concern that the support available here could be taken away from them by the proposed cuts to Edinburgh's third sector.
'These cuts have significantly distressed some of the most vulnerable people in our city and, if taken forward, could result in Edinburgh being one of the only western European cities without third-sector community mental health provision. That would be totally unacceptable.
'I have repeatedly asked the SNP and the EIJB to rethink their strategy, and I urge the First Minister to engage with my request for cross party communication on this matter.'
The EIJB meets in August under its new Chair Cllr Tim Pogson. The decision about cuts was postponed at the last meeting under previous chair Katarina Kasper.
Our video below was filmed at the public meeting on 26 May when it was still believed the EIJB would decide what to do on 17 June.
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