19.11.13
HWBs give ‘little priority’ to mental health
Health and wellbeing boards must ensure they focus more on mental health in their strategies, the Centre for Mental Health has urged.
Analysis of 100 strategies found that nine did not include mental health at all, and those that did were found not to focus on specific goals.
The Centre for Mental Health recommended encouraging boards to actively consult with mental health service users, carers and professionals; encourage and support boards to bring in or delegate a mental health champion; and looking into further regulations to be developed to ensure minimum standards are met by strategies.
Centre for Mental Health’s chief executive Sean Duggan said: “Health and wellbeing boards are in a unique position to identify key areas for implementing real change in their communities. It is imperative that all boards take mental health into consideration – not only because of the key role they will play in working towards parity of esteem but because mental health is an essential part of everybody’s overall health.
“We have found some examples of exciting, innovative approaches in some joint health and wellbeing strategies. But many boards have given little priority to mental health. Not only is this a missed opportunity to tackle some of the complex needs that exist, including cross over between mental health problems and alcohol, for example, but it also means that health considered through the prism of physical health alone.
“We hope that by identifying the opportunities for health and wellbeing boards to improve people’s mental health and life chances in their strategies we can see more councils make significant changes in their communities. We hope that boards will create successful local initiatives that not only improve the health of their local population but also create more effective commissioning of a range of local services.”
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