article_snippet: Simon Stevens, the head of NHS England, has warned that by the end of the decade the health service will need an extra £8billion-a-year.
article_snippet: the Lib Dems today pledged an extra £2.5billion for mental health care to end 'decades of institutionalised discrimination' in NHS.
article_snippet: Some £250 million over five years will be spent on services for pregnant women and mothers dealing with depression.
article_snippet: This would include eight new mother and baby units providing inpatient care and 40 new community services helping new mothers adjust to life at home with a newborn.
article_snippet: New waiting time standards will be introduced for people in crisis and for conditions like bipolar disorder so that those who are ill know how long those who are ill have to wait.
article_snippet: The funding would also mean hundreds of thousands more people will get access to talking therapies for anxiety and depression.
article_snippet: A commitment to boost funding for health, with a particular focus on mental health, will be on the front page of the Lib Dem election manifesto, indicating it will be a key priority in any coalition talks after the General Election.
article_snippet: Felicity Dormon, senior policy fellow at the Health Foundation charity, said well-targeted extra funding for mental health could improve the quality of NHS care but questioned what other areas of health would lose cash as a result.
article_snippet: If you care about the NHS as much as you claim to, you should too.'
highlights_snippet: Pledges £2.5bn for mental health, including support for new mothers .