Allocating resources in mental health: a clinician’s guide to involvement

Mark Davies is an honorary consultant psychiatrist and Director of Res Consortium (Fosse House, East Anton Court, Icknield Way, Andover SP10 5RG, UK. Email: mdavies{at}resconsortium.com), an organisation working with the NHS and industry on performance improvement. He left clinical practice to take an MBA at Bath University School of Management, and has worked with clinicians and managers on all areas of joint working in service design and development. He has a research interest in network performance and methods of engaging professional groups in service development and commissioning processes.

With fundamental changes to the way services are commissioned and resourced within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), optimising the efficient and effective use of resources has become a key task for mental health clinicians and managers. A core step in this process is ensuring that resources are optimally allocated across the service. This article outlines steps in resource allocation, including understanding how resources are managed through budgets, the link between resource matching and care delivery, and methods of reallocating resources to improve service performance. Influencing appropriate allocation is a critical role for psychiatrists, working with both managers and commissioners in the decision-making process. Understanding resource allocation from a management perspective should improve the ability of psychiatrists to influence this process more effectively.