Chiefs blame cuts in psychiatric care for 50% rise in detentions under Mental Health Act
Police will get a minimum of two days of training on mental health issues, with some officers getting more. Photograph: Steve Phillips/Alamy Police say they are being relied on as an emergency mental health service and that cuts in psychiatric provision are probably to blame, the Guardian has learned. Officers point to an increase […]
‘Creaking’ mental health care keeps children waiting years
Vulnerable children with mental health problems are being forced to wait for up to three and a half years for assessments and almost two years for treatment, a Times investigation has found, revealing a system that is “creaking at the seams”.
Karen Reissmann, a local nurse who is standing against Labour MP Gerald Kauffman, said, “People in Gorton are looking for change. There is a deep sense of betrayal at Labour’s failure to represent ordinary people. It cuts through every conversation, even with Labour loyalists.”
Because of the very drastic cuts by the NHS and Manchester City Council, it is quite obvious to Service Users, Carers and other members of the public that Manchester Mental Health & Social Care Trust, cannot provide Services in order to treat patients who suffer from “severe & enduring mental illness”, which is putting them at serious and dangerous risk, such as their physical health, their absolute poverty (e.g. homelessness, starvation, hardship etc), as well as their need for formal in-patient services and suicide or other premature death.
The message is clear and members of the public, Unison members and members of MUN turned out on Valentines Day asking those who Love Manchester to tell Manchester City Councillors not to implement cuts to Manchester Mental Health Services already cut to the marrow as Manchester City Councillor Paul Andrews (Bagley) recently said: “These cuts are already down to the marrow.” MUN’s Chair Paul Reed in response said: ” This mean further killer cuts will mean the loss of lives and that’s something Manchester User’s Network is not prepared to allow, if this Council implements these killer cuts MUN would seek legal action against Manchester City Council.”
Greater Manchester Police has collaborated with Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMW ) to provide a training programme for staff that improves the understanding of mental health.
Manchester celebrities Shaun Ryder, Terry Christian, Rowetta and Claire Mooney are to lead hundreds of protesters in a rally against ‘appalling’ coalition cuts that have affected the city.
The Mancunian icons will lead crowds in what they are calling a ‘smart rally’— an emulation of the pro democracy demonstrations that took place in Hong Kong back in September 2014.
An innovative mental health street triage service for Dorset is reducing the number of times police have to detain mental health sufferers in custody.
Nearly half the number of people detained under Section 136 in Dorset have ended up in custody in 2014, compared with the previous year. Figures show 44% less people were placed in custody during 2014 as there were in 2013 as a result of displaying a mental health condition.
Authorities in England have pledged to bring an end to the practice of detaining people with mental health problems in police cells.
The NHS, councils and police are now set to come up with plans for how they will achieve this, the government said.
Care minister Norman Lamb said real progress had already been made, and added that “in many parts of the country it’s now a thing of the past”
On the day many people will be waking up to the prospect of a fortnight at home, blogger Charlotte Walker shares how she plans to take care of her mental health during the festive season.
I have often found Christmas difficult. This year I’m recovering from a mental health crisis which makes seasonal planning particularly challenging. It’s common to feel under pressure to create a magical Christmas but if you are already stressed, anxious or depressed, that pressure can be magnified.
