New vision to make
mental health everyone’s business
Urban allotments, reading groups and computer training for the
over 50s are just some of the good practice initiatives featured
as part of a new approach to public mental health and well-being,
announced by Care Services Minister Phil Hope today (00.01am Thursday)
‘New Horizons’ marks a new era in mental health. It sets out a
dynamic new approach to improving well-being for the whole
population, aiming for the first time to create a powerful
alliance that can target the root causes of poor mental health.
The consultation launched today was developed with a wide range
of partners, all of whom have a vital role to play. As well as
health services, the response of local authorities and education
will be critical. From schools to employers, and the NHS to the
criminal justice system, New Horizons makes mental health
everyone’s business.
A number of key themes are being consulted on:
· prevention and public mental health– recognising the
need to prevent as well as treat mental health and promote mental
health and well-being.
· stigma – strengthening our focus on social inclusion
and tackling stigma and discrimination wherever they occur.
· early intervention –expanding the principle of early
intervention to improve long term outcomes.
· personalised care – ensuring care is based on
individuals’ needs and wishes leading to recovery.
· multi-agency commissioning/collaboration – working to
achieve a joint approach between local authorities, the NHS and
others, mirrored by cross government collaboration.
· innovation – seeking out new and dynamic ways to
achieve our objectives based on research and new technologies.
· value for money – delivering cost-effective and
innovative services in a period of recession.
· strengthening transition – improving the often
difficult transition from child and adolescent mental health
services to adult services, for those with continuing needs and issues.
One in six of us experience a mental health problem at any one
time. Mental health care has been transformed over recent years,
and services in England are now recognised as international
leaders, but New Horizons aims to take that even further.
As we enter the next decade, services need to be personalised,
allowing the patient to make decisions about their treatment,
monitor their own condition and tell the professionals what it is
they want to help get their life back on track.
Care Services Minister Phil Hope said:
“Better mental health and well-being is vital for a healthy
society. People with mental health problems are more likely to do
other things that damage their health, such as have a poor diet,
smoke or take drugs. So promoting good mental health is a key part
of tackling many other health inequalities.
“Over the last ten years of the national service framework we’ve
transformed mental healthcare but now we want to go further. Our
aim is to build on recent achievements, whilst simultaneously
taking the next logical step – helping to prevent mental health
problems from developing in the first place. New Horizons will
help us do this.
“We want to involve everyone in building mentally healthier
communities, which is why it is important that people up and down
the country tell us what they think about the ideas set out in New Horizons.”
Steve Shrubb, Director of the Mental Health
Network of the NHS Confederation said:
“The strength of this consultation is that it has been developed
with the involvement of a full range of organisations* in mental
healthcare. Promoting mental health is everyone's
business and the coalition fully supports the move to embedding
good mental health across society while continuing to improve
services.
“Only by working together across government can we address
problems as early as possible, combat stigma and put mental health
service users in charge of the support they receive. We know there
can be no health without mental health. Fostering good mental
well-being will be a vital part of how we respond as a society to
the challenges of the recession.”
*The Future Vision Coalition consists of the following national organisations:
· Association of Directors of Adult Social Services ·
Association of Directors of Children’s Services ·
Local Government Association · Mental Health
Foundation · Mental Health Network, NHS Confederation
· Mental Health Providers Forum, NHS Confederation ·
Mind · Rethink · Royal
College
of Psychiatrists · Sainsbury Centre for Mental
Health · Together
Louis Appleby, National Director for Mental Health
Services said:
“Around 50% of lifetime mental illness starts before the age of
14 and continues to have a detrimental affect on people’s lives.
Potentially half of these problems are preventable.
“The New Horizons vision is about promoting better mental health
and well-being. It is also about high quality, responsive
services, that intervene early and effectively to lessen the
long-term effects of mental ill-health. Services that are focused
not only on treatment outcomes, but on wider quality of life
issues, strengthened by efforts to promote social inclusion and
tackle stigma and discrimination of every kind.”
“Poor mental health is already believed to cost the economy
£77billion a year, with the King’s Fund predicting that the cost
in terms of GDP will double to over 10% by 2026. The indirect
costs of poor mental health include poor educational attainment,
unemployment and increased crime and anti-social behaviour.”
Notes to Editors
To contribute to the New Horizon consultation please visit
www.dh.gov.uk/mentalhealth
Over the past ten years, the Government has vastly improved
mental health services. Examples include:
More patients helped:In the year
2007/08, crisis resolution teams provided over 106,000 episodes of
home treatment for patients who would otherwise have been admitted
to hospital.
More staff:There are now 64 per cent more consultant
psychiatrists, 71 per cent more clinical psychologists and 21 per
cent more mental health nurses than in 1997, providing better care
and support for people with mental health problems.
More services: There are now more than 740
new community mental health teams offering home treatment, early
intervention, or intensive support for people who might otherwise
have been admitted to hospital.
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk