Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing Dr Andrew Clifton on the report from the Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies that states mental health services need to given more priority.
The annual report
Dame Sally Davies the chief medical officer has published her annual report in relation to public mental health in England The report makes 14 recommendations to organisations in order to effect positive change for the public’s mental health.
Only a quarter of mental illnesses are treated
One of the key features highlighted in the report is the cut on spending and associated reduction in mental health services. As it says in the BBC News story “Dame Sally said there were signs spending in real terms had been cut since 2011 – and called for this disinvestment to stop. On top of that, she said, access to services needed to improve as three-quarters of people with a mental illness did not receive treatment.”
This is an astonishing statistic. Imagine if three-quarters of patients with “fractured bones” or “chest infections” did not receive medical treatment for their condition, there would be, quite rightly, a national outcry. As the report highlights “Only a quarter of people with mental illness across Europe receive any form of appropriate treatment, compared with about 80% of people with diabetes”.
Introduce waiting times
One way of improving access to mental health services is to create “parity of esteem” with other physical healthcare illnesses such as heart conditions and cancer. For example, just like A & E services and routine surgery, mental health services could introduce targets for waiting lists, where it would not be unreasonable to see a specialist clinician within a set period of time – such as four weeks for a moderate to severe problem?
Many people can wait for six months to access some mental health services such as “talking therapies” which are provided by the NHS. Often whilst they’re waiting, the problem deteriorates and gets worse, thus requiring more expensive treatments and interventions, including admission to hospital, which is very costly.
Reduce the discrimination of mental illness
Another way of creating “parity of esteem” with physical healthcare conditions is to confront and reduce the stigma and discrimination which follow many people experiencing mental health problems. Many people are afraid to reveal or even discuss their illness to others. This results in them not being able to access appropriate services due to not being able to acknowledge they have a problem that requires some help.
Be more receptive to the individual
Finally, mental health services need to be more responsive to the individualised, culturally sensitive treatment options of people experiencing mental illness. A one-size-fits-all approach is not conducive to meeting the specific preferences and priorities that individuals often have.
More money yes, to improve access to mental health services. However, just as important is the need to change public attitudes to provide services that are both timely and tailored to the individual requirements of those people experiencing mental illness.
Read the full news story on BBC News website.
