Living through the pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health of people across our country, and I know from my conversations with constituents that this impact has been felt here in the Forest of Dean.
The Government has made protecting mental health and wellbeing a priority. This is why mental health services, as part of the NHS’ five-year funding offer agreed in 2019, will receive an additional £2.3 billion a year in real terms by 2023-24.
However, in recognition of what an important problem this is, the Government is going further. The Government is developing a 10 Year Plan for Mental Health and Wellbeing and, to help them produce this, the Department of Health and Social Care has just launched a call for evidence.
The purpose of this call for evidence is to build consensus on the priority actions in this area, develop plans to make sure people are treated with compassion and receive mental health support at the earliest possible stage, and to inform the development of a National Suicide Prevention Plan.
The Government is seeking views on a wide range of questions, from prevention through to acute mental health care. They are particularly keen to hear from people who have struggled with their mental health, cared for people living with mental health difficulties, or work in services supporting people, as well as relevant academics and experts.
The call for evidence will run for 12 weeks and will close on the 5th of July. If you have experience in, or views on, any of the above, I would encourage you to submit evidence here.
If you are affected by any of the issues I have touched on, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the support available. Wellbeing advice is available on the Better Health: Every Mind Matters website and details of NHS mental health services, and 24 hour urgent mental health helplines, can be found on the NHS website.
