This year, World Mental Health Day highlights that mental health is a universal human right. In a world that is increasingly aware of the detrimental impacts of poor mental wellbeing, it is important that we acknowledge the significance of community cohesion and how it is a fundamental part of mental health support.

Mental health is an intrinsic part of our humanity, and it deserves recognition in the same way that physical health does.

Having a mental health condition should never be a reason to deprive a person of their human rights or to exclude them from decisions about their own health - World Health Organisation

Mental health is a basic human right and is vital to overall health and well-being, yet in the UK one in four people will experience a mental health problem each year. One in six people will experience a common mental health condition each week, and 20% of adolescents may experience a mental health problem in any given year, making it the single largest cause of disability as reported by NHS England. You can read more about these statistics on the Mind website or the Mental Health Foundation website.

These statistics are staggering. Regrettably, they are likely to be much higher due to the exclusion of several marginalised groups, for example, those in hospitals, prisons, sheltered housing and those experiencing homelessness.

The combination of the cost-of-living crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic has created a perfect storm. People are not only dealing with economic hardships but also trying to navigate the aftermath of a global health crisis.

Arguably, access to mental health care is now more critical than ever before, but in many cases, these services have suffered disruptions and experienced increased demand.

As support services’ capacity is stretched and waiting lists continue to grow, adults with mental illness have been reporting their mental health to worsen as they await treatment, with more individuals turning to emergency services and crisis lines in the absence of mental health support. You can read more in this article from the Royal College of Psychiatrists from October 2022. 

As mental health plays an important role in personal, community, and socio-economic development, the NHS has committed to ensuring that high-quality care is delivered promptly, to support these factors.

The NHS Long Term Plan outlines a new ring-fenced investment fund worth at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. This comes at a critical time to help tackle the treatment gap in mental health care, ensuring that the ‘NHS provides high quality, evidence-based mental health services to an additional 2 million people’.

At NHS SCW, our Mental Health and Care Pathways Portfolio is focused on supporting the ongoing improvement of mental health care services. Our purpose is to help our partners in health and care achieve the best possible outcomes for people, communities and populations, and we address many areas of the mental health landscape.

• To find out more about the support we can provide or for an exploratory conversation with our team, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
• Find out more about World Mental Health Day