Mind, the mental health charity, has welcomed proposals to recruit 21,000 more mental health workers over the next five years.

Chief executive Paul Farmer said the support of a great nurse, doctor, psychologist, or social worker can make all the difference to people’s lives.

The NHS plan, Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, will see mental health services dramatically improved through increased funding and staffing.

It said an extra one million people will be able to access mental health services by 2020/21, including 70,000 more children and young people, with a greater focus on prevention and mental wellbeing.

Likewise, services will be accessible seven days a week, 24 hours a day when needed.

“A damaging lack of foresight in workforce planning in the past has led us to where we are now, with a significant gulf between what’s in place and what’s needed to deliver good quality care,” said Mr Farmer.

“Cuts to mental health services in recent years have led directly to posts being axed and taken its toll on morale, which has led to valued staff leaving mental health in frustration or burn-out. The scale of the challenge is clear, so we welcome the measures announced in this plan to attract people back to mental health and keep hold of them.”

He said mental health services staff do a hugely important job and can make a real difference to the experiences of people accessing mental health services.

“We now need a longer-term, further-reaching strategy to build the kind of NHS mental health services that will carry us into the future, to cope with inevitable rising demand and to provide better integration of mental and physical health services,” he added.