5,000 add their voices to campaign to end mental health poverty

Embargoed until: 00:01 Tuesday 28 October 2003

Photo-call: Mind representatives hand in petition of 5000 postcards to Downing Street, 12.00pm Tuesday 28 October 2003. View the pictures here.

5,000 add their voices to campaign to end mental health poverty

Mind campaigners hand in 5000 petition postcards to Downing Street to end the hidden costs of mental health.

Mind campaigners will today (28 October) hand in a petition of 5,000 names to number 10 Downing Street calling for measures to be taken to end people with mental health problems having to pay for treatment out of their own pockets. Signatories to the petition and Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Green will be taking part in the hand-in.

In June, Mind's report The Hidden Costs of Mental Health revealed that 64 per cent of people with mental health problems were being forced to pay on average £68 per month for medication, care and treatments they couldn't get on the NHS. With 85 per cent of people with long-term mental health problems unemployed, this proves an unbearable burden on many. 58 per cent of respondents had been unable to afford treatments which they felt would have helped them.

Since the publication of the report, 5,000 people have added their voices to the campaign by signing a petition calling for the Government to commit to providing the care and treatment needed by people with mental health problems free of charge.

Nasa Begum, one of the signatories to the petition, who will be handing in the postcards today, said:
"Something needs to be done to ease the burden of having to pay for treatments to help people cope with mental health problems. At the moment, the cost of getting what you need is enormous, and this is a massive disincentive to people getting treatments which will help them."

Sophie Corlett, policy director of Mind, said:
"Although this Government has made mental health one of its priorities, improving mental healthcare provision in the UK seems to have slipped off the agenda somewhat. By making mental health care and treatments free of charge, the Government would be giving a strong indication that they are still committed to the cause, and at one stroke improve the lives of thousands of people."

Key findings of the report include:

• 45 per cent paid an average of just under £40 per month for prescribed care and treatment (often via multiple medications on prescriptions)
• 51 per cent paid around £60 per month for un-prescribed care and treatment.  18 per cent of these people paid £100 or more
• 64 per cent had paid or were still paying an average £68 a month for care or treatment (prescribed or not)
• 58 per cent felt they missed out on care or treatment they believed would be helpful. Of these 59 per cent said they could not afford it.
• 70 per cent of people who missed out on treatment or paid for it themselves said their recovery was held back or ability to cope reduced.

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Notes

The survey was carried out in 2003 by HealthWhich? and Mind among people with mental health problems who were members of two Mind networks. The report analyses the responses of 455 people who had received care or treatment within the last five years (1,127 questionnaires were sent).

Matthew Green is Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and MP for Ludlow.