Specialist mental health centres to open

I think it’s an excellent idea. Of course there will be complaints that it’s not going to happen fast enough (and that will be the case for someone in a MH crisis now) but short of erecting tents there’s nothing much that can be done by next weekend, is there? Hospitals and clinics take time to build, but the principle of giving people a dedicated place to go when having an MH episode is, IMO, sound. It will reduce the strain on A&E departments dealing with physical ailments and get help to those who need it faster.

I hope the NHS is able to get funding to staff the centres adequately, and that there are enough trained nurses and psychiatrists to allow this to go ahead as planned. A friend of mine is a (retired) senior MH nurse, and she says the low levels of staff qualified to deal with serious mental illness and potentially prevent incidents such as the recent machete attack by a psychotic patient is frightening, particularly as they often present as dangerous and disturbed.

Then there are the lower levels of mental illness such as anxiety, depression and so on that cause such misery for sufferers (and their families) and costing a fortune in lost time at work and in benefits. Similarly, waiting years for a diagnosis of something like ADHD can impair a child’s education and potentially hold them back for life. Faster access to help could make a huge difference.

After 14 years of neglect, I am delighted to see that the government is taking action to turn public services around. It is bound to happen slowly, but that is so much better than not happening at all.

Magenta8

I am not trying to undermine the seriousness of this thread but why is it listed under Pedants' Corner?

Just what I was going to say. Mods please move it!

I hope things improve as well Doodledog my daughter was a senior mental health practitioner and has left nursing due to the levels of stress and lack of support. So many good and highly qualified nursing staff leaving the profession it's very sad.

Top post Doodledog and an absolutely crucial subject - but I refuse to engage with it in Pedants Corner. Imo it should be News and Politics and it if is moved there I will most definitely take part.

Yes, why pedants Corner ?

I do actually care an awful lot about this, but can someone else kick off a discussion - not for me, right now as Stuff Happening.

Why are there so many people with mental problems? There must be a root cause. Is it pollution, or does it stem from the diet of the mother? So many women drink and smoke to excess. Does this affect the development of the baby? Too much medication?
I hope research is being done into this, because it never used to be such a big problem.

Ridley

A lot of A&E departments already have specific MH Liaison teams but the issue is more about lack of MH beds and poor community care to try and prevent many of these issues even arising. The number of MH beds have been steadily decreasing

True, and the number of MH beds for women decreased even faster. A new smaller facility, built to replace an older but larger existing one was allocated to men, with women being moved to wards in hospitals far from home.

mum2three

Why are there so many people with mental problems? There must be a root cause. Is it pollution, or does it stem from the diet of the mother? So many women drink and smoke to excess. Does this affect the development of the baby? Too much medication?
I hope research is being done into this, because it never used to be such a big problem.

I was thinking the same.
Could it be that we are generally more aware of MH problems? Are there specific underlying causes?
And I don’t recall there being quite so many diagnoses of ADHD, Autism, etc (and I am not being judgemental here so please don’t misinterpret my words) .
Was it a case of many years ago people were institutionalised and kept away from society?

Theres little or no help here!