The NHS and mental health

Like breaking your leg or having the flu, lots of us have at some point needed support with our mental health.* But with a problem like depression or anxiety, it can be hard to get the help you need. Local mental health services are closing down, and waits for appointments can be months.

The government promised to make sure this was fixed. They promised that mental health would be valued just as much as physical health. But they haven’t followed through – yet.

An influential committee of MPs were looking for a way forward. They asked for opinions from everyone about the state of mental health services. So 38 Degrees members brought our voices together to share our thoughts and experiences. Almost 100,000 of us filled in a people-powered survey and then sent it through to the MPs – adding a wave of public opinion to a committee used to only hearing from politicians and policy professionals.

Here’s what we all thought:

Should mental health get more NHS funding?

Where should funding for mental health come from?

Is the government taking mental health seriously enough?

38 Degrees members come from all walks of life, but one thing that brings us together is the idea that if we join our voices, we can make ourselves heard. This week we showed how effective that can be. And we’ll be keeping up to date with what the committee comes up with.

*One in four of us will experience some kind of mental health problem at some time in our life. Recognising that you may have a mental health problem and taking the first steps to get help can be difficult. It may take time to begin to benefit from help but there are many effective treatments for mental health problems. There are many services and organisations that offer help and support to people with mental health problems, here are a few:

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/your-mental-health/getting-help