Chloe SmithMP for Norwich North
Chloe SmithChloe Smith, Member of Parliament for Norwich North has pledged her support for the NHS’s five-year plan for mental health. Chloe welcomed the plan and has committed to taking action to see it delivered locally.
NHS England’s taskforce on mental health – independently chaired by Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of the mental health charity, Mind – launched the plan last month, with key recommendations for NHS mental health services, as well as other bodies and services involved in the support of people with mental health problems.
The NHS has committed an additional £1billion a year for mental health services, which will help one million more people access quality care.
The taskforce was set up in March 2015. Over 20,000 people who live with a mental health problem and/or work in the mental health sector told the taskforce they want timely access to good quality mental health services, their mental and physical health needs to be treated equally and a bigger focus placed on preventing mental health problems.
They also said that decent housing, job and good quality relationships in their local communities were crucial to staying well.
The key taskforce recommendations are:
· By 2020/21, one million extra people will be provided with support for their mental health problem.
· People facing a crisis should have access to mental health care 24/7 – right care, right place, and right time.
· People’s mental and physical health should be treated equally – including people with severe mental health problems, women in the perinatal period, children and young people.
· All areas of society, such as schools, workplaces and community organisations need to contribute to the promotion of good mental health and prevention of mental health problems – in all areas of people’s lives.
· Too many people from Black and Minority Ethnic communities have problems accessing good quality mental health care and have lost faith in services. The taskforce demands urgent action to ensure that everyone gets the help they need, irrespective of their background or the communities they belong to.
Chloe will be attending a briefing on the Mental Health Taskforce recommendations and what they mean for Norwich on Tuesday 15th March. The meeting will also be attended by Karen Turner, Director for Mental Health for NHS England, Paul Farmer CBE, Chair of the Mental Health Taskforce and Chief Executive of Mind and Jacqui Dyer, Vice Chair of the Mental Health Taskforce.
Chloe said: “One in four people in Norwich will experience a mental health problem this year and countless more will be affected through friends, family, work colleagues and other people in their lives.
“A growing number of people are accessing mental health services - services must be able to respond quickly and appropriately when someone reaches out and asks for help.
“This is a national strategy for mental health for the next five years, and I will do allI can to ensure the recommendations and funding are delivered in our city, to improve mental health services locally.”
Paul Farmer said: “This is a landmark moment for mental health care in this country, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform services and support for people with mental health problems. We are saying to the NHS, to government, to industry, to local leaders and to the public that mental health must be a priority for everyone in England. We need to prevent problems in the first place, and to respond to people’s mental health problems at the earliest possible opportunity. As part of this, the NHS can and should be a world leader in care which treats people’s minds and bodies equally well.
“This report is a feasible and affordable blueprint for how to significantly improve care for people with mental health problems. We have consulted with the experts – people with experience of mental health problems, professionals providing care and the public. It’s time to make positive change.”
Simon Stevens, the Chief Executive of NHS England, said: "One in four of us will suffer from depression, anxiety or other mental health problem, but mental health services have historically been the NHS' poor relation. Putting mental and physical health on an equal footing will require major improvements in seven day mental health crisis care, a large increase in psychological treatments, and a more integrated approach to how services are delivered. That’s what the taskforce report calls for, and it's what the NHS is now committed to pursuing."