Skip to main content
I watched the Lansley announcement on public health on Parliament live this afternoon. Not one mention of mental health in his statement or the subsequent questions. Yet the Department of Health says (and this is current):


  • “Poor mental health and well-being can have an impact on every area of a person’s life; physical health, education, employment, family, relationships, and the effects can last a lifetime. It plays an important part of in contributing to and maintaining health and social inequalities. Good mental health and well-being are associated with improved outcomes for individuals including longevity, physical health, social connectedness, educational achievement, criminality, maintaining a home, employment status and productivity.”


I think the DH quote is an excellent one with which I wholly agree. Applause to them. But it is at present fat wormy text - substance but squirming in no particular direction.



Mental health, once again in sick repetition, has been pushed to the back; shoved under the carpet; mothballed in the wardrobe.



Here in Norfolk we get the the exclusion of mental health shoved in our faces; the local authority adult social care avoidance of any mention (apart from a scant nod in the direction of dementia); social care personal budgets pushing it into a separate silo; NHS pilots of personal budgets quivering at the mere mention; some people with sensory and physical disabilities openly discriminating against those with mental health problems; health staff in local hospitals vehemently taking the attitude that mental health is not their job.



Localism promotes discrimination.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

website

Just a confirmation of the search for a website host and my website ppeyes will be back on line. The functions are the same - as an independent monitor of how patient and public involvement in health is working with the addition of looking at how LINks will be set up (if they indeed are set up at all). This blog will be used for comments on current activities and developments closely allied to the website. As soon as the site is up and running I'll provide a link. Activities have extended further since ppeyes was taken off line (because it was criticising a government department - more later) in September 2005. I'm now active in service user campaigning and, being a disabled National Health Service User myself, in disability rights.
Post a Comment
Read more

Appeal for Users' ATOS Stories

Mental Health Resistance Network: Judicial Review  Members of the Mental Health Resistance Network (MHRN) have been working with a solicitor towards making a claim for a Judicial Review of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) which is the assessment used to determine whether we will be granted Employment Support Allowance or sent back to work (if there is any work to be found!). MHRN are just focussing on people who claim on mental health grounds.   MHRN are now at a critical stage in this process as they are very close to being able to make the claim for Judicial Review. However, before theycan do this, it would help if they could find stories that will show the court what sort of problems the WCA causes. So they are looking for people who have been through the process and would be able to tell us about their experience. If people wish, MHRN can present their cases anonymously when they use their evidence. Although it ...
Post a Comment
Read more

SURVIVOR HISTORY NEWSLETTER

>From Andrew Roberts Secretary Survivors History Group http://studymore.org.uk/ studymore@studymore.org.uk telephone: 020 8 986 5251 home address: 177 Glenarm Road, London, E5 ONB Survivor History Group Summer 2012 Newsletter The July London meeting of the Survivors History Group will be held on Wednesday 25.7.2012 from 1pm to 5pm at Together, 12 Old Street, London. Everybody is welcome and refreshments will be provided. The September meeting has had to be moved from a Wednesday to Thursday 27.9.2012 (subject to approval by this Wednesday's meeting) because of the availability of a room at Together.   -------------------------------------------------------------------- The agenda for the July meeting will be drawn up at the beginning of the meeting, but it will include Peter Campbell's regular report back on the research he is leading on the history of Survivors Speak Out and discussion of material received from other people about Survivors Speak Out.  Rick Hennelly has se...
Post a Comment
Read more