Is the government finally waking up to mental health issues?

[Mark]

I saw this article today:-

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...provide-beds-mentally-ill-end-detention-cells

All talk or progress?

 

[Jade]

I’d like to think that this will happen because it really should. I had a friend that was sectioned under the mental heath act because they made an hysterical scene in the street because they were convinced someone was trying to kill them. They were put in a cell at first before being referred to a hospital and I can imagine this would have caused them more stress at the thought of being locked up like a criminal. It could also make the situation worse if someone was suffering with for example Paranoid Schizophrenia as it would make them even more paranoid due to the people in the cells next to them.

It is something that should be changed.

 

[Mark]

Mental health issues such as anxiety, phobias, etc are the silent illnesses in society today - how they have gone so long without the required funding is a scandal.

 

[GH0STP03T]

We are slowly starting to see a slight glimmer of hope I'd say. Thanks to social media campaigns and (unfortunately) the widely publicized deaths of well-known figures - Robin Williams for instance. Politicians are now beginning to see just how widespread and catastrophic the effects of mental health are and the fact more needs to be done to ensure 'regular' people are better looked after. But there is a loooooooooooooooooong way to go!

 

[Jade]

Without getting into a political debate I think that the government should stop focusing on trivial and pointless things and start addressing issues that are important. David Cameron’s keenness to lift the ban on fox hunting is a complete waste of power and resources ( lets not even go into how awfully cruel it is) he could be using his time to implement the kind of reformations that are stated in this article to improve the quality of life and treatment for those that do suffer with mental health.

 

[GH0STP03T]

At the end of day everything comes down to money. The actual quality of life for people comes second to profit the of companies and a certain few. Many studies have shown that people in the poorer nations tend to be a lot happier, at least on a mental level. I think 'we' as a nation need to re-evaluate where and how our money is spent and also re-think our relationship with money.

 

[Jade]

At the end of day everything comes down to money. The actual quality of life for people comes second to profit the of companies and a certain few. Many studies have shown that people in the poorer nations tend to be a lot happier, at least on a mental level. I think 'we' as a nation need to re-evaluate where and how our money is spent and also re-think our relationship with money.

I do agree that we shouldn't focus on money and as mentioned we should re-evaluate our relationship with it but the sad truth is with the rising prices of food and other necessities an issue of money is never far away from our thoughts. As I mentioned fox hunting I must mention the previous ( and despicable) badger culling put in place by the government as well. Money was thrown into culling programmes when the government knew due to culling pilots years before this probably wasn’t going to be effective. Money poured down the drain. Money that could have been used to fund the NHS or other improvements of public services.

 

[GH0STP03T]

I do agree that we shouldn't focus on money and as mentioned we should re-evaluate our relationship with it but the sad truth is with the rising prices of food and other necessities an issue of money is never far away from our thoughts. As I mentioned fox hunting I must mention the previous ( and despicable) badger culling put in place by the government as well. Money was thrown into culling programmes when the government knew due to culling pilots years before this probably wasn’t going to be effective. Money poured down the drain. Money that could have been used to fund the NHS or other improvements of public services.

The problem I think with the government (or rather politics in general) is that it's self-serving. Only a small section of our growing society benefits from how the way the country is run these days. Politicians are supposed to serve the people, be a voice for the people, but this is rarely the case. I totally agree that money with you Jade when you say 'money is being poured down the drain and it is a complete shame. Things definitely need to change.

 

[Jade]

I must say that recently so many articles have been circulating the news in regards to mental health issues and inadequate care and I see that positive in the way that these issues are being addressed. Surely with so much information becoming available to the public on this subject and with all the article write ups being quite controversial due to NHS failings etc I expect its quite probable that more of an effort is going to be made to resolve these problems and provide better health care for the public.