14.08.13
Mental wellbeing should be public health priority
Councils must put mental health at the heart of their public health strategies, two charities have urged. Mind and the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) have published a report, ‘Building Resilient Communities’, highlighting the importance of creating parity of esteem between mental and physical health.
Public health teams should help residents to reduce stress and anxiety, the report suggests. It brings together research and best practice of resilient services to help councils to prevent the development of mental health problems and to measure their impact.
Mind’s director of external relations Sophie Corlett said: “As public health teams find their feet within local authorities, now is a key moment to be making the case for the importance of public mental health. We want to see teams recognising that improving the wellbeing of their community will improve their wider health outcomes as well as saving money.
“Working in a new environment will present exciting opportunities for public health teams to adopt a more integrated approach through Health and Wellbeing Boards. Local Authorities must grasp this opportunity now as we cannot afford for mental health to be forgotten.”
Simon Lawton-Smith, head of policy at the Mental Health Foundation said: “We ignore public mental health at our peril. The recession means this is a challenging time for many individuals and wider communities. It is now more important than ever that people’s mental health is made a public health priority.
“Local authorities must seize this opportunity to develop clear public mental health strategies. This report highlights the importance of services and activities that glue communities together and that build people’s emotional resilience.
“If these strategies are to be successful, it is vital that those living in the most difficult life circumstances receive targeted support to build their resilience while steps are taken to include the whole local community to protect against the development of poor mental health.”
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