Holidays On The NHS: It's The Worth Not The Cost

Horse riding, summer houses, art classes, holidays, music lessons and video games.

Sounds like a week in the life of a pampered rich kid? In fact these are all examples of treatments dished out for free on the NHS.

At a time when the health service is facing a financial crisis, it seems difficult - if not impossible - to justify.

But hear me out.

Personal health budgets, designed for people with long-term sicknesses and disabilities, cost around £120m a year and give patients more control over their own care.

These are often individuals with very complex mental health needs and more should be known about their particular circumstances before condemning the spending.

One patient was given a free holiday with her children so she could feel "like a good mother".

It goes without saying that there are many other struggling parents who can't afford to take their kids away and don't expect a handout to help them.

But what do we know about this particular woman? Is she depressed? Even suicidal? And what about the kids? It can't be easy living with a parent with serious mental health needs, can it?

Do they act as her carers? We simply don't know.

Music therapy, for instance, can be an effective way of treating autism.

Patients with neurological problems - perhaps after a head injury - could find that horse riding helps with their physical rehabilitation (the ancient Greeks used it for wounded soldiers).

Studies have shown using a Wii Fit helps people recovering from a stroke.

This goes to the very heart of how society views people with mental health problems.

Treatment shouldn't just rely on pill popping and putting a brave face on it.

We wouldn't baulk at thousands of pounds being spent on someone's physical needs so why are we so uncomfortable with the idea of a few hundred pounds being spent to try to tackle a mental health issue?

Last year the NHS dished out £1.1bn in medical negligence claims, with the majority of the money going to legal firms. In that context, £120m doesn't seem like an awful lot of money after all.