 | Mental Health Lead person: Julia Yelloly |
No results were returned for this search
Mental Health is a more widespread problem than people might think with 1 in 4 people
having some form of mental illness in their lifetime. As a result Mental health was
identified as one of the six national priorities for action in the White Paper Choosing Health
and this has recently been reinforced in the Health Challenge England - Next steps for Choosing Health.
"At present about 2 million people vist GP surgeries each year with mental health
problems. Of these 1% receive congnative behavioural therapy (CBT) and 3% receive
'Psychotherapy'. Another 4% receive 'Councelling' - GP's emply about 5,000
councellers. Most but not all patients get drugs, and their biggest complaint is that
psychological therapy is not more widely available."
Mental Health problems have complex causes and effects, involving social and
economic circumstances as well as physical and mental health. Effective interventions
therefore require the particpation of a wide range of health and social care agencies, and
the support of both the patient's support network, including their employer.
Recently there has been a renewed focus on the role of employment and employer in
contributing to the general mental health of the population. This is not surprising when
the cost of mental illness is so high.
"Mental Health has the lowest proportion of employment of any disability group at 24%.
Over 900,000 people with mental health problems claim sickness and disability
benefit, a larger figure than the total number of people claiming JSA in Britain."
Indicators of Public Health 7: Mental Health
|