The health document to which these amendments relate is on the Your Britain website. At present these are merely proposals from various members which the Association is considering. They are not yet agreed.
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line 37 add after “people”: “and at least one in 10 children”
line 38 add: “The state of the nation’s mental health is at its worst ebb since 1997. As evidenced by increasing morbidity and a worsening suicide rate, this is in part due to the recession, but also due to the coalition’s response and the savage cuts to public services. These cuts disproportionately affect the most vulnerable. A clear focus on enhanced well being and the promotion of mental health within schools, workplaces and in general hospitals is needed to reduce the economic and social burden of ill health, particularly to prevent depression in the elderly and their carers and families.”
Line 47 after “new right to ” insert “equitable, effective, evidence-based, treatments including”
Line 50 add: “Mental health services will be scrutinised to ensure that they comply fully with the provisions of the Equalities Act”
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line 5 add: “Early identification and intervention, both in terms of symptomatology and age are crucial if we are to reduce psychopathology overall in society. Development of robust perinatal mental health services and increased funding of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) will be a key part of our strategy for the prevention of long term mental illness.”
add ” Taking part in any community activity is another vital way of protecting and improving mental health, which is another reason why health providers will be directed to support the growth of local voluntary and community groups as a whole, cooperating with the other services which have a mutual interest in this, as described in the paper on stronger, safer communities. For all these reasons we will ensure that health agencies play an active part in deploying community development, with the clear objective of strengthening the constructive role of the community and voluntary sector in relation to health. ”
add ” Mental health staff must not separate themselves from general health services, as human illness takes no such account. Mental health services need to return to the easy clinical contact with all medical specialities, and this can be assisted by the removal of the commercial barriers that started the present separation and future reintegration of mental health into general medical services.”
Line 14 add “families” before “workplaces”
Line 17 add “social care, ”
In the Better Politics paper
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Line 23 add “People with mental health problems have been particularly hard hit by changes to benefit assessment processes”
Line 34 add ” Poverty, isolation, social injustice and discrimination generate and exacerbate mental ill-health. More effort needs to be taken to build stronger communities, limit the loneliness many people are experiencing and reduce economic inequality. Taking part in any community activity is a vital way of protecting and improving mental health. Health providers will be required to support the growth of local voluntary and community groups as a whole, cooperating with the other services which have a mutual interest in this, as described in the paper on stronger, safer communities. For all these reasons we will ensure that health agencies play an active part in deploying community development, with the clear objective of strengthening the constructive role of the community and voluntary sector in relation to health.”