Posted: Thursday 2 September 2010
Today the Care Services Minister Paul Burstow outlined the Government's plans for a new mental health strategy.
In response to the announcement, Mind Chief Executive Paul Farmer said:
It is encouraging to see Paul Burstow’s recognition that any effective new mental health strategy will require all areas of Government to work together to create public mental health services which have the needs of the service user at their very core. Everyone has mental health and it has been found time and time again that intervening early and in a community setting is the most cost effective approach to supporting someone experiencing mental distress.
Tackling the stigma which persists around mental health is also key to creating a culture where people can openly seek the support they need and have access to the best possible care. Despite improvements there is still a lot of work to do before mental health services are consistently good, for example across the country people are still being faced with a postcode lottery for access to talking therapies and conditions on a number of inpatient wards remain totally unacceptable.
While we appreciate that in the current financial climate there is a need to look at savings it is imperative that mental health is protected from cuts and that investment in this area continues. The recession has taken its toll on the nation’s mental wellbeing, and we hope that the Government takes the Comprehensive Spending Review as an opportunity to build upon the progress which has been made in recent years.
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