Today is World Mental Health Day, with Actions for Happiness calling for us to ‘talk openly about how we feel and do whatever we can to support each other’. With around 20 million people in the UK with mental health problems, that is a lot of looking after. Furthermore, the number of children with psychological problems is thought to be close to a million. It is time we did more!
So, what more can we do? Awareness is definitely getting better and the stigma is reducing. In times of austerity it is no surprise that the mental health budget continues to fall despite the economic and social cost hitting £125 billion in 2010. While the sadness, anxiety and hopelessness many people experience everyday is unquantifiable! Quite simply we need to invest more in mental health.
Imagine what the Daily Mail would say if your Granny couldn’t get treatment for cancer because it had been spent on helping an Asylum seeker’s gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, no treatment is a reality for many people who are dealing with poor mental health, the charity Rethink states this happens to 2 out of 3 such people.
Mr Clegg got a Brownie point this week, I think he has forgotten what these are! Although he quickly lost this after starring in the most cringeworthy party political broadcast ever (you must try and find it). The Lib Dems have brought to attention the appalling deal mental health gets in the NHS budget, they have promised to increase this and introduce the first targets in this area. This is encouraging stuff, but there is more chance of me turning down a slice of cake than this or any other Lib Dem policy getting close to having any influence post coalition.
However, after events in Essex last night, it got me thinking what would happen to mental health treatment if UKIP gained more seats. Would they be determined to increase the 13% of the NHS budget it currently receives? The disease burden is currently 23% and is unlikely to get any smaller. I did a little research and quickly found that many UKIP supporters do indeed have strong views on mental health (they are a passionate bunch). Parliamentary candidate Julia Gaspar advises an increase on in psychiatric treatments (nice one Doc). Oh hold on, this is involuntarily committing gay people for treatment. Don’t despair, some of their activists have some cutting edge ideas about how to treat some of the disorders our children are suffering from. ADHD, which is incidentally psychobabble to keep lefties in jobs, can be treated by shouting at children. Who knew?
So, lets be positive, mental health awareness has increased dramatically over the last few decades which can only be a good thing. But more investment is needed in research and treatment and organisations such as Action for Happiness and the brilliant Time for Change have got a lot work to do.
At least our latest Westminster party are prepared to invest in treating illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and HIV/Aids…Sigh!
Andy Gilbert
