Want to really help with mental health crisis? End austerity now

WHEN the NHS was created 70 years ago, it was largely designed to end the physical health inequalities that blighted society.

For all its transformative change, it didn’t put mental health on the same footing as physical health, despite the greater understanding of the issue following the World Wars.

Today, we have made great strides in tackling the stigma around mental health.

When I stood down as Scottish Labour leader a year ago, I wrote in this paper about a surgery for constituents I held just before I resigned.

A 20-year-old man had been caring for his mother as she battled a severe and debilitating mental health condition. He was in despair with the system, and just wanted someone to give him advice and stand in his corner.

That’s what I did and it’s what politicians from all parties do every day – fight for those without a voice.

But politicians, who have a public voice, are also human beings – as we were reminded at the weekend. Scots Tories’ leader Ruth Davidson’s openness and frankness has rightly been praised after she spoke about her own mental health struggles in her past.

In recent months, SNP MSPs Gail Ross and James Dornan have also helped break down the stigma around mental health by talking about their experiences.

They have all helped to demonstrate that mental illnesses, just like physical illnesses, can be managed and, with the right support, they don’t stop a person taking on big challenges or entering public life.

But there’s a lot more work to do. The politics of austerity is creating a mental health crisis in Scotland.

There are parents who are under stress every day as they worry how to put food on the table for their children, with brutal welfare cuts piling more misery on to the already vulnerable.

So, while I applaud Ruth for helping to break down barriers about the experience of mental health illness, we cannot overlook the fact that her party are erecting barriers that contribute to the country’s mental health crisis.

Austerity is a failed ideology that must be abandoned. More work is required to improve our health service to ensure that we truly have parity of esteem between mental and physical health.

Last week, an independent report revealed the SNP’s target waiting time standard for Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services has never been met.

Young people are receiving little or no support while they wait, meaning their condition can deteriorate, while service provision is inconsistent.

It’s time for a step change in how we deliver mental health services.

In the 2016 Holyrood election, I argued for counsellors to be introduced in every school, so I was delighted when the Scottish Government listened and earlier this month agreed to the proposal.

But we must go further still and deliver guaranteed access to mental health support in every college and university campus and workplaces across the country.

This is a national crisis and there can be no further delays in rising to the challenge we face.