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| Dave Munday: ‘I have no confidence that Jeremy Hunt will deliver on mental health’ | Dave Munday: ‘I have no confidence that Jeremy Hunt will deliver on mental health’ |
| (4 months later) | |
| Hélène Mulholland | |
| Tue 12 Sep 2017 12.00 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 17.09 GMT | |
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| Dave Munday was recently at a Mental Health Nurses Association meeting in Salford to discuss “the drastic decline” in the number of mental health nurses in England, while Theresa May was telling Jeremy Corbyn at prime minister’s questions that there are now “more nurses in our hospitals than we had in 2010”. It was 5 July, the 69th anniversary of the NHS. | Dave Munday was recently at a Mental Health Nurses Association meeting in Salford to discuss “the drastic decline” in the number of mental health nurses in England, while Theresa May was telling Jeremy Corbyn at prime minister’s questions that there are now “more nurses in our hospitals than we had in 2010”. It was 5 July, the 69th anniversary of the NHS. |
| Munday is the professional mental health lead at Unite – the trade union of which the MHNA is part. While it is true that nursing numbers overall have increased since 2010, for mental health nursing, the numbers in the NHS in England were down over the same period, with some 5,000 fewer nurses in March 2017 compared with 2010 figures, according to NHS Digital figures. | Munday is the professional mental health lead at Unite – the trade union of which the MHNA is part. While it is true that nursing numbers overall have increased since 2010, for mental health nursing, the numbers in the NHS in England were down over the same period, with some 5,000 fewer nurses in March 2017 compared with 2010 figures, according to NHS Digital figures. |
| A health visitor by background, Munday has worked for the past 10 years at Unite – the country’s largest trade union, with 1.4 million members. The Labour-affiliated union has over 100,000 members in the health sector across all occupational groups: from nurse practitioners, health visitors and healthcare assistants to porters, cleaners and other auxiliary staff. | A health visitor by background, Munday has worked for the past 10 years at Unite – the country’s largest trade union, with 1.4 million members. The Labour-affiliated union has over 100,000 members in the health sector across all occupational groups: from nurse practitioners, health visitors and healthcare assistants to porters, cleaners and other auxiliary staff. |
| Since taking on the new mental health lead role last year, Munday has been focusing on the professional concerns facing Unite’s mental health nursing membership – most of whom belong to the MHNA, which provides clinical and professional support to 2,000 mental health nurses and students. He is also looking at the union’s own mental health policies: he points out that officers who routinely support frontline workers going through difficult times can also feel the stress. And he provides support and specialist advice to health sector members in two northern regions. | Since taking on the new mental health lead role last year, Munday has been focusing on the professional concerns facing Unite’s mental health nursing membership – most of whom belong to the MHNA, which provides clinical and professional support to 2,000 mental health nurses and students. He is also looking at the union’s own mental health policies: he points out that officers who routinely support frontline workers going through difficult times can also feel the stress. And he provides support and specialist advice to health sector members in two northern regions. |
| Upbeat but resolute, Munday has his work cut out: service cuts and staff shortages are taking their toll on hard-pressed members, he says. “We did a survey last year that showed a workforce that is more demoralised and is having to do more with less, and I think that’s really difficult for them. No nurse wants to go to work and feel at the end of the day that they’ve not done enough to help the people they are there to help. Being in that situation is hugely difficult and I’m worried we are seeing that scenario much more often.” | Upbeat but resolute, Munday has his work cut out: service cuts and staff shortages are taking their toll on hard-pressed members, he says. “We did a survey last year that showed a workforce that is more demoralised and is having to do more with less, and I think that’s really difficult for them. No nurse wants to go to work and feel at the end of the day that they’ve not done enough to help the people they are there to help. Being in that situation is hugely difficult and I’m worried we are seeing that scenario much more often.” |
| The crisis in mental health service provision was highlighted this week with the revelation that there are “large inequalities” in how easy it is for patients to see consultant psychiatrists. It follows a slew of media reports over summer, most chillingly in the form of a 17-year-old suicidal girl for whom no hospital bed in an appropriate environment could be found. The case prompted the UK’s most senior family judge, Sir James Munby, to speak out about the “disgraceful and utterly shaming lack of proper provision”. Demand is soaring while inpatient beds are falling, putting in jeopardy Theresa May’s pledge to tackle “the burning injustice” of current levels of mental health provision. | The crisis in mental health service provision was highlighted this week with the revelation that there are “large inequalities” in how easy it is for patients to see consultant psychiatrists. It follows a slew of media reports over summer, most chillingly in the form of a 17-year-old suicidal girl for whom no hospital bed in an appropriate environment could be found. The case prompted the UK’s most senior family judge, Sir James Munby, to speak out about the “disgraceful and utterly shaming lack of proper provision”. Demand is soaring while inpatient beds are falling, putting in jeopardy Theresa May’s pledge to tackle “the burning injustice” of current levels of mental health provision. |
| Munday says replenishing staff numbers is vital. “How else can you solve this problem without having well-trained people in place to support those experiencing mental health problems?” he asks. | Munday says replenishing staff numbers is vital. “How else can you solve this problem without having well-trained people in place to support those experiencing mental health problems?” he asks. |
| The government needs to make it as easy as possible for new recruits to come into the profession and reverse cuts to mental health nursing in England, he adds. How? He says by ringfencing mental health funding; removing the public sector pay cap; and reintroducing the nursing bursary. | The government needs to make it as easy as possible for new recruits to come into the profession and reverse cuts to mental health nursing in England, he adds. How? He says by ringfencing mental health funding; removing the public sector pay cap; and reintroducing the nursing bursary. |
| So what does he make of the government’s efforts to tackle the problem? Will health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s plans to hire 21,000 more trained nurses, therapists, psychiatrists, peer support workers and other mental health professionals at a cost of £1.3bn not help? The aim is to treat an extra 1 million people by 2021, provide mental health services seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and properly integrate mental and physical health services. | So what does he make of the government’s efforts to tackle the problem? Will health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s plans to hire 21,000 more trained nurses, therapists, psychiatrists, peer support workers and other mental health professionals at a cost of £1.3bn not help? The aim is to treat an extra 1 million people by 2021, provide mental health services seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and properly integrate mental and physical health services. |
| But Munday, a keen runner who has completed 15 marathons, is sceptical. “I don’t have any confidence that Hunt is going to deliver on his pledge. Ministers continually say they’re going to do something, but they’re not delivering on the promises.” But failure comes at a price, he adds. “The impact is hugely significant, for the people who work in the NHS and for the people who receive services. For some, it is life and death.” | But Munday, a keen runner who has completed 15 marathons, is sceptical. “I don’t have any confidence that Hunt is going to deliver on his pledge. Ministers continually say they’re going to do something, but they’re not delivering on the promises.” But failure comes at a price, he adds. “The impact is hugely significant, for the people who work in the NHS and for the people who receive services. For some, it is life and death.” |
| Munday comes from a family with a strong public service ethos. Both his parents are retired teachers and his sister is a GP. A St John’s ambulance volunteer in his youth, he was encouraged to pursue nursing by his school careers adviser and was drawn to health visiting because of an interest in preventive care to “help people stay well”. | Munday comes from a family with a strong public service ethos. Both his parents are retired teachers and his sister is a GP. A St John’s ambulance volunteer in his youth, he was encouraged to pursue nursing by his school careers adviser and was drawn to health visiting because of an interest in preventive care to “help people stay well”. |
| He worries about the impact of service cuts and staff shortages not just on patients, but on healthcare staff and his union colleagues as well. | He worries about the impact of service cuts and staff shortages not just on patients, but on healthcare staff and his union colleagues as well. |
| Representing members going through a rough time in the workplace or who are feeling stressed by the resource constraints on their ability to do the job properly can place a toll on officers, he says. He admits he has also felt affected at times. | Representing members going through a rough time in the workplace or who are feeling stressed by the resource constraints on their ability to do the job properly can place a toll on officers, he says. He admits he has also felt affected at times. |
| “When I speak to a group of members and they tell me their staff is being reduced by 25% because of budget cuts, I get really upset about that, and I’m not the person [actually] delivering the care to those people. The most stark examples are officers supporting healthcare workers who then take their own lives. They can be close to members going through difficult times, so how do they keep the appropriate distance? They are not trained mental health professionals.” | “When I speak to a group of members and they tell me their staff is being reduced by 25% because of budget cuts, I get really upset about that, and I’m not the person [actually] delivering the care to those people. The most stark examples are officers supporting healthcare workers who then take their own lives. They can be close to members going through difficult times, so how do they keep the appropriate distance? They are not trained mental health professionals.” |
| Unite is already rolling out mental health training to reps across the country. Munday is keen to develop further ways of supporting colleagues. | Unite is already rolling out mental health training to reps across the country. Munday is keen to develop further ways of supporting colleagues. |
| He would like to see a dedicated secretary of state for mental health, to ensure that parity with physical health is achieved, and to look at how other government policies affect people’s mental wellbeing. | He would like to see a dedicated secretary of state for mental health, to ensure that parity with physical health is achieved, and to look at how other government policies affect people’s mental wellbeing. |
| “We should have a mental health minister who is not a part of any other government department so that they can take a cross-departmental view of how policies impact on people’s mental health and on services,” says Munday. “Having a dedicated minister would show real commitment by government on mental health and also recognise the all-encompassing impact of mental health – both in the workplace and in wider society.” | “We should have a mental health minister who is not a part of any other government department so that they can take a cross-departmental view of how policies impact on people’s mental health and on services,” says Munday. “Having a dedicated minister would show real commitment by government on mental health and also recognise the all-encompassing impact of mental health – both in the workplace and in wider society.” |
| Curriculum vitae | Curriculum vitae |
| Age 37. | Age 37. |
| Family Married, three children. | Family Married, three children. |
| Lives Stalybridge, Tameside. | Lives Stalybridge, Tameside. |
| Education Oldham Hulme grammar school; Manchester University (nursing degree) | Education Oldham Hulme grammar school; Manchester University (nursing degree) |
| Career 2016-present: lead professional officer, mental health, Unite; 2007-16: professional officer and health visiting lead, Unite; 2006-07: Sure Start health coordinator, Tameside and Glossop primary care trust; 2004-06: health visitor, Tameside & Glossop primary care trust; 2002-04: health visitor, Salford primary care trust; 2001-03: staff nurse, Tameside and Glossop acute NHS trust; 1999-2003: auxiliary nurse, Tameside and Glossop acute NHS trust. | Career 2016-present: lead professional officer, mental health, Unite; 2007-16: professional officer and health visiting lead, Unite; 2006-07: Sure Start health coordinator, Tameside and Glossop primary care trust; 2004-06: health visitor, Tameside & Glossop primary care trust; 2002-04: health visitor, Salford primary care trust; 2001-03: staff nurse, Tameside and Glossop acute NHS trust; 1999-2003: auxiliary nurse, Tameside and Glossop acute NHS trust. |
| Interests Running, triathlon | Interests Running, triathlon |
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