Mental Health
Mental Health Services are extremely important provisions in the current world we live. With massive stresses put on our youngsters and adolescent youth, and the daily living demands of bills, debt, grief, loss, housing, health and more. We are bombarded with an overflow of information on this and that, and having advertising agencies throwing us ideas of what they think we need and should have, and we then are divided between the have's and have-not's, and placed into many categories of image, financial capacity, and the lists are endless. So some feel as though they are under pressure to fit in or else they will fit-out-though life is not easy in either "box."
In the UK, services have been reduced, cut, shut and residents are the ones who suffer. The services such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy once offered are being limited and even withdrawn from those in receipt of N.H.S. welfare service. There has been over the last 10 years a 60% increase in Mental Health suffering and about the same in reduction of service. This is felt in hospitals, and Mental Health workers are at their limit in capacity for the help that they can provide as their just is not the money to be injected into services to helps those with Special Needs, Psychiatric condition, Depression and between the Police, Hospital N.H.S. staff, Mental Health charities and Outreach services, as well as Social Services- they are stretched to breaking point. There are no beds, no available help for many. And with the status of the Health service in general at an all time emergency-low, we the people will be feeling the pinch of their purse.
The Healthcare workers and Charities and other service providers are doing all they can with the little they have, to support the communities, but sadly there is just not enough to go around and services such as the Police force and Charities such as Mind, are being forced to overlap their skills to act as social workers to support the community. Suicide rates have increased dramatically too and with the act of suicide being a criminal offence if you don't succeed in 'offing' yourself, many feel pressured into succeeding for fear of repercussions if they don't. Suicide threats are often a cry for help but when the help is not there or limited, people can really feel alone. More alone than they did before.
We often think of these services as support networks which offer people HOPE. Hope is so important to help the recovery and management process of those afflicted with Mental Health conditions. But what happens when there is NO Hope? The Government and Health Ministers need to seriously do something- stop privatising our N.H.S. stop penalising the workers, stop the purse-string squeeze and pocketing money, inject the funds into areas where they need it not where it is not needed, train and recruit more staff and agency support across the nation, communication liaison channels should be opened between service providers of the various services involved- between Police, Social Services, Charity Outreach, Homeless shelters, Paramedics and Staff in Health etc.
Getting the RIGHT support to the RIGHT people at the RIGHT time is and has been party to an incredible improvement in peoples lives, in particular the young, and vulnerable of our society. We need to be working in liaison with Schools and the Community support workers in order to understand where these services are most required, as most of the time, early injection of support to the right place at the right required time is what will mean a huge difference for their future and the future of those services too. Research constantly tells us that this is true- to get help to those who need it when they are young, to recognise and learn to understand that by providing people with good support when they are young and in a vulnerable state, means for better Mental state and health later on. It will also allow more people to be recognised as being 'in the system' which will mean that they are being cared for and not ignored. Those outside of the system are those who go under the radar and who often are the ones who suffer the most, as lack of community and service observation means they become isolated from that which they most need.
MORE MUST BE DONE AND EVERYONE HAS A DUTY OF RESPONSIBILITY TO THOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THEY ARE NOTICED, CARED FOR, LOVED, UNDERSTOOD, ACCEPTED, AND HAVE ACCESS TO SUPPORT AND HAVE A VOICE.
Article Written By Kathleen Oakwood.
In the UK, services have been reduced, cut, shut and residents are the ones who suffer. The services such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy once offered are being limited and even withdrawn from those in receipt of N.H.S. welfare service. There has been over the last 10 years a 60% increase in Mental Health suffering and about the same in reduction of service. This is felt in hospitals, and Mental Health workers are at their limit in capacity for the help that they can provide as their just is not the money to be injected into services to helps those with Special Needs, Psychiatric condition, Depression and between the Police, Hospital N.H.S. staff, Mental Health charities and Outreach services, as well as Social Services- they are stretched to breaking point. There are no beds, no available help for many. And with the status of the Health service in general at an all time emergency-low, we the people will be feeling the pinch of their purse.
The Healthcare workers and Charities and other service providers are doing all they can with the little they have, to support the communities, but sadly there is just not enough to go around and services such as the Police force and Charities such as Mind, are being forced to overlap their skills to act as social workers to support the community. Suicide rates have increased dramatically too and with the act of suicide being a criminal offence if you don't succeed in 'offing' yourself, many feel pressured into succeeding for fear of repercussions if they don't. Suicide threats are often a cry for help but when the help is not there or limited, people can really feel alone. More alone than they did before.
We often think of these services as support networks which offer people HOPE. Hope is so important to help the recovery and management process of those afflicted with Mental Health conditions. But what happens when there is NO Hope? The Government and Health Ministers need to seriously do something- stop privatising our N.H.S. stop penalising the workers, stop the purse-string squeeze and pocketing money, inject the funds into areas where they need it not where it is not needed, train and recruit more staff and agency support across the nation, communication liaison channels should be opened between service providers of the various services involved- between Police, Social Services, Charity Outreach, Homeless shelters, Paramedics and Staff in Health etc.
Getting the RIGHT support to the RIGHT people at the RIGHT time is and has been party to an incredible improvement in peoples lives, in particular the young, and vulnerable of our society. We need to be working in liaison with Schools and the Community support workers in order to understand where these services are most required, as most of the time, early injection of support to the right place at the right required time is what will mean a huge difference for their future and the future of those services too. Research constantly tells us that this is true- to get help to those who need it when they are young, to recognise and learn to understand that by providing people with good support when they are young and in a vulnerable state, means for better Mental state and health later on. It will also allow more people to be recognised as being 'in the system' which will mean that they are being cared for and not ignored. Those outside of the system are those who go under the radar and who often are the ones who suffer the most, as lack of community and service observation means they become isolated from that which they most need.
MORE MUST BE DONE AND EVERYONE HAS A DUTY OF RESPONSIBILITY TO THOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THEY ARE NOTICED, CARED FOR, LOVED, UNDERSTOOD, ACCEPTED, AND HAVE ACCESS TO SUPPORT AND HAVE A VOICE.
Article Written By Kathleen Oakwood.