A massive expansion of NHS mental health services will create 21,000 new posts by 2021, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.

The £1.3bn drive will increase the number of nurses, therapists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals to treat an extra one million people and provide services seven days a week.

But the Royal College of Nursing has said the timeframe appears "not to add up" because the nurses would have to start training next month to be ready in time.

Retaining staff, and encouraging some of the 4,000 psychiatrists and 30,000 mental health nurses not substantively employed by the NHS to return is key to the plan.

Mr Hunt said his goal was "ambitious" and meant "supporting those already in the profession to stay and giving incentives to those considering a career in mental health".


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He told Sky News is was important to do more because "we still have too many tragedies, too many young lives cut short because we're not helping people quickly enough".

He said the plan included an extra 2,000 people working in children's and young people's mental health, and nearly 3,000 more treating depression and anxiety.

Mr Hunt said the jobs would be funded by "new, additional, extra money".

Professor Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which helped devise the plan, said: "The 570 extra consultants promised in this strategy will be crucial to delivering the high-quality, robust mental health services of the future."

However, the Royal College of Nursing said it doubted the number of staff promised would be available by 2021 and that applications to study were falling.

"If these nurses were going to be ready in time, they would be starting training next month," said chief executive Janet Davies.

"But we have seen that the withdrawal of the bursary has led to a sharp fall in university applications and we are yet to see funding for additional places.

"There is already a dangerous lack of workforce planning and accountability and this report is unable to provide detail on how the ambitions will be met."

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Labour's shadow minister for mental health, Barbara Keeley, told Sky News it was vital to see where the funding was coming from to judge whether the plan is realistic.

"Is there enough money? That's the first thing," said Ms Keeley.

"The £1.3bn is actually money he (Mr Hunt) has committed to other things and he's only part-funding this recruitment drive."

She also echoed concerns over whether enough trainees would be attracted to the profession due a squeeze on pay and bursaries.

"It's become very difficult recruiting nurses because of the 1% pay cap, (and) of course they've scrapped the nurse bursary, making it harder for nurses to train."

Ms Keeley said a Labour government would commit "an extra billion pounds - over and above what's already there" to mental health services, as well as scrapping the pay cap.