Put your heads together to help mental services
MPS JOIN ROYALS’ FIGHT TO IMPROVE AWARENESS AND FUNDING
MENTAL health services should have their own dedicated funding to ensure sufferers get the care they need, MPs have insisted.
A letter calling on the Prime Minister to ring-fence mental health funding has been signed by 160 MPs to mark World Mental Health Day yesterday.
It follows claims that cash-strapped local health authorities, called Clinical Commissioning Groups, are failing to improve mental health services.
Those calling for a new funding system include City of Durham MP Roberta Blackman-Woods, Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell, North Tyneside MP Mary Glindon, Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman, Washington and Sunderland West MP Sharon Hodgson, Newcastle North MP Catherine McKinnell, Gateshead MP Ian Mearns, Easington MP Grahame Morris and North West Durham MP Laura Pidcock.
The Health and Social Care Act 2012 created a legal responsibility for the NHS to deliver “parity of esteem” between mental and physical health.
But the MPs said in their letter to Theresa May that this has still not happened in practice.
They said: “We would like to see this aspiration become a reality and believe ring-fencing will get us one step closer to real equality for mental health.”
And the MPs warned: “We see this injustice every day in our constituencies. Our constituents face long waits to access mental health services, if they get a referral at all.
“The number of young people and adults turning up at A&E in a crisis continues to rise.
“The amount and quality of contact provided in the community has diminished significantly. And too often inpatient treatment means leaving family and friends for a unit hundreds of miles from home.”
They urged Mrs May “to commit your government to ring-fence mental health funding”.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prince Harry, hosted a palace reception celebrating the contribution of those working in the mental health sector.
The evening event – held to mark World Mental Health Day – recognises the progress, hard work and dedication of those determined to raise awareness of mental health issues.
William, Kate and Harry have supported the issue with their Heads Together mental health campaign that has been encouraging people to speak out or be a sympathetic ear for others.
The Government has announced a new £15 million programme to train up to one million people in basic mental health “first aid” skills.
The programme will improve personal resilience and help people recognise and respond effectively to signs of mental illness in others, the Department of Health said.
The Public Health England (PHE) campaign will help people assess their own mental well-being and learn techniques to reduce stress.
Mrs May said: “I want to use the power of government as a force for good to transform the way we deal with mental health problems right across society, and at every stage of life.
“Tackling the injustice and reducing the stigma associated with mental health conditions is a priority for me, which is why today I set the goal of providing one million members of the public with basic mental health awareness and first aid.”
But the challenges surrounding mental health were highlighted by a new report which said insults are becoming more common, with negative words heard in everyday language.
A YMCA study found that more than four in five young people say they have heard harmful language and negative stereotypes used about people experiencing mental health difficulties.
More than two fifths of those questioned said they had heard these types of insults at least weekly.
The findings, published on World Mental Health Day, are based on two polls, one of around 1,000 16 to 24-yearolds and the other of around 2,000 11-24-year-olds.
More than three quarters of young people said they have heard “retard” used negatively in relation to young people experiencing mental health difficulties, while 78% have heard “mental”, 71% have heard “weirdo” and 70% have heard “psycho”, it found.