27 February 2024
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has joined more than 60 other charities in calling on political parties to make a major commitment to mental health ahead of the forthcoming general election.
The Centre for Mental Health, Mind, NSPCC and Marie Curie are all backing the Manifesto for a Mentally Healthier Nation. It urges political parties to commit to several key pledges such as investing more in mental health services, tackling inequalities and reforming the benefits and justice systems.
Dr Lade Smith CBE, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said:
"The current public mental health emergency poses a significant threat to the health of millions of people across the country and is damaging the economy. We need a comprehensive and long-term plan that aims to reduce the prevalence of mental illness, stop people from reaching a crisis point and ensure specialist services are sufficiently resourced to treat those with serious mental illness.
"People who receive mental health support quickly are far less likely to develop a serious mental illness that will continue to harm them in later life. Children and young people must be provided with better access to fast and effective care, and we need to remove inequalities which too often prevent people from receiving the support they need.
“Government has a duty and responsibility to make tackling this crisis a priority. This includes modernising the Mental Health Act, expanding children and young people’s access to mental health support, and tackling long waits for mental health support by ensuring services are adequately staffed and resourced to provide everyone with the care they deserve."
For further information, please contact:
- Email: press@rcpsych.ac.uk
- Twitter: @rcpsych
- Out-of-hours contact number: 07860 755896