The country’s mental health is likely to be at its worst – with the cost of living crisis, the effects of the Covid pandemic and global instability marginalizing people, the head of a major charity has warned.
DR Sarah Hughes, who became Mind’s chief executive in January, said the charity was genuinely concerned about the impact the cost of living crisis would have on people’s mental health.
During her first interview with the PA news agency, dr. Hughes that despite the country’s mental health challenges, the issue is no longer on the political agenda.
She warned that the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and war in Ukraine and the resulting global instability could drive vulnerable people to suicide.
She added: “We are really worried. It feels like a perfect storm that we have to deal with.
DR Sarah Hughes, who became Mind’s chief executive in January, said the charity was genuinely concerned about the impact the cost of living crisis would have on people’s mental health.
The country’s mental health is likely to be at its worst, the brain has warned (file image)
“We have the pandemic recovery, we have the cost of living crisis and we cannot underestimate the impact of the war in Ukraine and global instability.
“All this contributes greatly to the vulnerability that we all experience to a greater or lesser extent.
“What we do know is that the number of people committing suicide increased after the 2008 financial crash – we don’t want that to happen again.”
When asked if mental health was not on the political agenda in recent years, Dr. Hughes: “I certainly think that is the case.
“I don’t think it has been put on the public’s agenda. But I’ve seen a slowdown in the conversations we’re having with policy makers, a kind of “we’ve already done that, we’ve already achieved the goal of achieving equality”.
“But of course we know that’s not entirely the case, because mental health came from an underinvested place, so each investment was just filling a previous gap.”
“This is a misconception that we need to clear up: the job is not done, and the country’s mental health is probably worse than ever.
“The government cannot afford to take mental health off the agenda, but I can understand why it might happen – the sight of ambulances waiting outside the emergency room is terribly scary. But some of them are people who are also trying to get help for their mental health.”
The head of mental health organization Mind said she had fallen off the country’s political agenda
DR Hughes said services needed to improve to accommodate people before their mental health began to deteriorate.
She added: “We need to be much better and more flexible in what we do for people coming in for their first episode of mental health and picking people up at the first opportunity.
“We know we can prevent someone from going through a mental health crisis by helping them resolve a performance issue or providing legal advice about their housing.”
DR Hughes also said childcare must be a priority as young people are not immune to the impact of the global crisis.
“The mental health of children today is the mental health of the nation tomorrow. We have to get better,” she said.
“What I know from talking to people who work with children and young people is that they are also very concerned about the cost of living. They are not immune to the global crisis, they are in it.
“We all know that children and young people face the biggest challenges when it comes to their own mental health and trying to navigate a world that was different before the pandemic.
“Children are very resilient, we have to admit that. These kids are great. But we must not underestimate the impact on them.”
Her comments come after a recent National Audit Office (NAO) report found that millions of people with mental health problems are not receiving NHS treatment or face long waiting times.
The NAO said that although the number of people needing care in England has risen to a total of 4.5 million, some targets are not being met and do not even apply to the majority of inpatient or outpatient care.
An estimated 1.2 million people are on the waiting list for NHS mental health services in the community and an estimated eight million others have mental health needs but are not yet in contact.
NHS England has announced that mental health care will receive an extra £2.3 billion every year through 2023-2024, which will help transform services while helping more people than ever before.
But Dr Hughes said the report highlighted the “grim situation” the mental health sector was in, with bed occupancy above safe levels, people waiting too long for emergency care in an emergency room and people reporting poor care experiences to report.
She said it remained to be seen whether the new major illness strategy announced by the government last month was a dilution of the 10-year mental health plan promised last year.
She added: “I think we were really ready for this ambitious 10-year plan, this idea that we would start working across departments and think really deeply about how we create the conditions for good mental health across the community that society can create, but also look at the other side of treatment and care.
“We struggle to see how the strategy for key conditions will gain the depth we need.
“We understand that there is a principle on the one hand, that they recognize that mental health is an important condition, it is an important statement.
“But we think it’s a bit of a missed opportunity to park it and go for a big state strategy. But we are also open, we do not shy away from the conversations we have.”
However, DR Hughes said hoping for the best would not solve the problems faced by patients trying to get treatment for their mental health problems.
She added: “Many charities have given the government quite clear solutions – income, benefits, housing. Those are the answers to the questions.
“Unfortunately, we can go around the houses, but the bottom line is that we know we can give people the best treatment they could ever receive in this country and in some parts of the system they are given the best mental health care. “Anywhere in the world, but sending them back to poor shelters, for example, undermines that treatment.
“So our ability to get people through treatment and recovery and bring them back to life is being eroded.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said: “Every year we invest an extra £2.3 billion in mental health care to ensure a further two million people get the support they need, including a a further 345,000 children and young people.
“We are also investing £150m in programs to address the pressure on local emergency and urgent mental health services, up to 100 new mental health ambulances to support people who need care closer to home, including alternatives to A&E and hospitalizations such as crisis homes. safe harbors and sequestration services.
“There are currently 287 mental health support teams in around 4,700 schools and colleges across the country supporting children with anxiety, depression and other common mental health issues, and this will grow to almost 400 teams by April.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
