I was delighted to read that the government is about to spend millions more monies on improving mental health services in England and Wales. As someone who has experienced acute mental health problems over many years I know only too well the importance having effective services that are easy to access.
Mental health is on the increase and particularly in children too. So far services have been somewhat fragmented and disjointed but hopefully this government initiative will help link up services making it easier for people to access help, and the right help. Many police hours are taken up responding to people in crisis who need protected from themselves but have nowhere to turn to. Sadly, many mental health patients are treated as criminals and in extreme cases end up in police custody. This is an inappropriate response to many people who are simply ill but can’t get the appropriate help.
I hope that in future there will be many out of hours services where people can access support when they most need it. I also hope that people will get much easier access to the appropriate therapies that they need such as psychotherapy or CBT. At the moment it can be very difficult to get therapy unless you are in a position to pay for it. Monies are needed to make therapy much more accessible and readily available.
As someone who has relied on services at times, I am delighted that more money is being invested in mental health hope that politicians north of the border in Scotland here will take a similar approach.