The Scottish Association for Mental Health and the Sainsbury Centre have produced a report titled What's it Worth? which investigates the Social and Economic Costs of Mental Health Problems in Scotland.
SAMH, Scotland’s leading mental health charity, commissioned The Sainsbury Centre For Mental Health to undertake an analysis of the social and economic costs of mental health problems in Scotland. The study examined not only the costs of providing health and social care services and losses to the economy, but also the personal costs of mental health problems.
Findings indicate that in 2005, the total cost of mental health problems in Scotland was £8.6 billion. This is more than the total amount spent in Scotland by the NHS on all health conditions combined, and is equivalent in monetary value to 9% of our Gross Domestic Product. In response to these findings, SAMH has produced an Agenda for Action for the 2007 Scottish elections, stating what political commitments are needed on mental health in Scotland. The Agenda for Action focuses on four key areas; Rights, Resilience, Recovery and Resources, and was developed through consultation with their membership: many of whom have personal experience of mental health problems.