Personality disorder programme No longer a diagnosis of exclusion

Mental health services in England have been transformed over the last ten years. The national service framework, the catalyst for many of these achievements, comes to an end in 2009. New Horizons marks a new era in mental health, when people will increasingly have more control over their health, their care and treatment.

The New Horizons consultation has now closed. The Department of Health mental health policy team are currently looking at what people said in response to the consultation and plan to publish the final New Horizons approach before the end of 2009.

Download consultation document (PDF, 3659K) which set out a number of key themes that were consulted on:

• prevention and public mental health– recognising the need to prevent as well as treat mental health and promote mental health and well-being
• stigma – strengthening our focus on social inclusion and tackling stigma and discrimination wherever they occur
• early intervention – expanding  the principle of early intervention to improve long term outcomes
• personalised care – ensuring care is based on individuals’ needs and wishes leading to recovery
• multi-agency commissioning/collaboration – working to achieve a joint approach between local authorities, the NHS and others, mirrored by cross government collaboration
• innovation – seeking out new and dynamic ways to achieve our objectives based on research and new technologies
• value for money – delivering cost-effective and innovative services in a period of recession
• strengthening transition – improving the often difficult transition from child and adolescent mental health services to adult services, for those with continuing needs and issues.