‘Government must do more to bring down suicide rate’

REGARDING a letter received from Karen Bradley, our MP, I received a reply on issues relating to mental health with statements which I believe should be examined and shared.

She rightly states that there has been an increase to the ‘NHS budget of around £20.5bn, with mental health receiving an additional £2bn.’

However this statement should be seen in the context of The Health Foundation, and similar analyses, that this rise follows eight years of only one per cent increases to the budget, which is inadequate to maintain services.

Traditionally, since the creation of the NHS in 1948 there has been an average budget increase annually of 3.7 per cent, reflecting inflation and the associated costs of advancing technology.

Since 2010 annual rises of only one per cent reflect the government’s unprecedented policies of austerity.

Our MP further highlights in her letter improvements in mental health crisis interventions, A&E services, and mental health service improvement for those under 18.

Again, numerous reports cite the poor services and waiting times for those with mental health issues.

These delays contribute to many individuals reaching crisis point.

A&E departments have seen a five fold increase in people presenting in crisis due to their mental health.

Over many years there have been calls from MPS, parents and families, psychiatrists and charities, highlighting how the NHS has been neglecting treatment and care for under-18s with mental health issues.

The current Government pledge for increased funding will mean 30.5 per cent of under-18s will receive help.

What happens to the other 69.5 per cent? If this were a statistic related to cancer care for example, there would be an outcry.

Finally, Karen Bradley in her letter celebrates the decrease in suicide rates over the past seven years.

Again, true, but the decrease has in fact been steady for over 30 years – hardly something the Government can take credit for.

Over this time we have seen an increase in suicide amongst the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

Deaths of homeless people have increased greatly, but the Government at national level do not record these, nor do they require a record of rough sleeper deaths at local authority level.

Something the present Government can take ‘credit’ for is increased homelessness, rising living costs, rising poverty, rising rent, falling social housing, and welfare cuts. Factors that are all strongly associated with increased suicide risks for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Lyn Swindlehurst Leek