Chloe Smith MP reiterates support for charity’s call for better mental health provision during local debate hosted by Mind

Member of Parliament for Norwich North, Chloe Smith has again backed calls for better provision of support for local people in mental health crisis. Mind, the mental health charity, is calling for local services to deliver on their promise to improve the support for people who are suicidal, self-harming or in psychosis.

 

During an in-depth debate hosted by Mind last week in Norwich, Chloe drew on her own experience of assisting constituents in need of crisis care and laid out the Government’s commitment to achieving parity of esteem between mental and physical healthcare in the NHS.

 

Measures include:

 

• Introducing the first waiting time standards for mental health so people start treatment sooner. From April 2015, most patients needing talking therapies for conditions like depression will be guaranteed the treatment they need in as little as 6 weeks, with a maximum wait of 18 weeks. For many patients experiencing their first episode of psychosis, the NHS will start treatment within two weeks of referral.
• Spending more to help people with mental health conditions. Funding for mental health is estimated to increase by £302 million from £11.362 billion in 2013/14 to £11.664 billion in 2014/15.
• Helping children get the mental health treatment they need to get better. The Government is investing £150 million over the next five years to help young people deal with issues like self-harm and eating disorders. We’ve also invested £54 million in improving access to psychological treatment for young people.

·         Improving access to psychological therapies to help people with depression and anxiety. The Government has invested £450 million over the course of this Parliament, which will be helping 900,000 people by April.

 

Last year, national and local governments, and leaders of key services in England, including health, police, and voluntary organisations, signed the Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat, an agreement that sets national standards for the care of people in mental health crisis. The Concordat aims to make sure that no matter where someone turns, they get the help they need and don’t fall through the cracks between different services. Key organisations in Norwich have since come together to sign their own local declaration agreeing to achieve the Concordat standards and are now preparing a local action plan to deliver them.

 
Chloe commented:

“I know many constituents who have needed crisis care, and whilst I’ve helped where I can to get them the right care, I am supporting Mind’s campaign to improve crisis care.  I’ll be monitoring progress on our local Concordat declaration to make sure that good intentions are made a reality for everyone trying to access crisis care.

 

“Nationally, the Government has committed to ensuring that mental healthcare is on a par with treatments for physical ailments. I will continue to support every effort in Parliament to achieve this.

"I thank Mind for arranging a constructive meeting on an important topic"