NHS bosses plan to cut mental health spending in parts of England just a week after Princes William and Harry’s emotional chats about losing their mum

NHS bosses are set to slash mental health spending in parts of England, an investigation reveals.

The cutbacks fly in face of promises to boost provision.

And they come just days after Prince William and Harry revealed their mental turmoil after losing their mum, to raise awareness for charity Heads Together.

Harry, 32, admitted he found himself in a state of “total chaos” and close to a “complete breakdown” in dealing with his grief.

NHS head Simon Stevens last month said mental health will be a key priority area over the next two years.

The NHS England chief executive has previously ordered local health boards to focus an extra £1bn a year on treating mental issues by 2020/21.

And said spending must go up at the same rate as funding.

Theresa May also said shortcomings in mental health services was a “burning injustice” she wanted to address.

But an investigation by Pulse magazine found five local health bodies – known as clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) – plan to cut their budgets.

South Sefton, Scarborough, Isle of Wight, St Helens and Walsall will in total be spending £4.5 million less on mental health in 2017/18 compared to last year.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, said: “Despite the raised hopes following the royal princes’ recent campaigning for mental health and the London Marathon, cuts to services across the country continue and people seeking help are still being failed.

“A recent report found that 40 per cent of the mental health trusts in England had seen cuts to their budgets.”

Mental health patients are still being forced to travel hundreds of miles for care due to a bed shortage, official figures revealed earlier this year.

Being split from families for long periods causes “significant psychological damage”, experts warn.

All of England 207 CCGs were asked about their spending on mental health.

Although overall spending was up by 4.2 per cent, five boards admitted they would be slashing budgets by up to 3.6 per cent.

Janet Davies, head of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Patients deserve more than rhetoric when it comes to mental health.

“The NHS promised to increase mental health spending but these hidden cuts demonstrate that parity between services is sadly a long way off.

“Mental health is still considered the poor relation and an easy target.”

A Pulse investigation last year revealed 60 per cent of vulnerable children were refused mental health treatment after being referred by their GP.