Legal News

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has suggested that attitudes to mental health issues need to be brought out of the “dark ages “ – and has said that mental health patients should receive the same access to appropriate health services as patients with physical illnesses.

The Liberal Democrats launched their new mental health action plan last week and said that the way in which mental health issues and care were treated was often based on stereotypes and stigma.

The Liberal Democrats have published a new report ‘Closing the Gap: priorities for essential change in mental health’.

Mr Clegg said:

“It's time for us to bring mental health out of the shadows and to give people with mental health conditions the support they need and deserve."

Mental health services across the country are facing budget cuts – and bed shortages in acute care units mean that some patients requiring acute care or and special placements such as mother and baby accommodation have been sent outside of their Care Commissioning Group (CCG) area for treatment.

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) recently pledged to end the practice of out-of-area mental health placements within four months.

The Centre for Mental Health estimates that mental health care costs the UK economy £105 billion every year, as one-quarter of the population will at some time suffer from a mental health issue, including conditions like depression and anxiety.

Mr Clegg also attacked methods of treatment such as face down restraint and minors with mental health issues being treated on adult mental health wards.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that the challenge facing mental health care was to treat the whole person – “and make every service as good as the best”.

Recent innovations in mental health care include more counselling therapies in which patients can discuss their anxieties with a trained counsellor, rather than take prescribed medicines for their condition.

The government is also proposing to improve mental health treatments for children.

A £43m budget has also been set aside to improve housing for mental health patients and those with learning disabilities. Mental health patients can suffer from feelings of isolation and may be homeless or moving between accommodation, including sleeping on floors at friends’ houses if they are unable to find affordable long-term accommodation – adding to their feelings of disconnection and isolation.

Labour leader Ed Miliband has also spoken out about the importance of addressing mental health care in the UK, calling for mental health to be a “top priority” if Labour wins the general election in 2015.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of specialist mental health solicitors and can offer free advice to mental health patients on mental health law and detention under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Duncan Lewis is the largest provider of mental health Legal Aid services in the UK – and our team focuses on the individual rights and liberties of those being detained.

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors endeavour to exercise patients’ legal rights and advise them while in hospital detention, including scrutinising all forms of medical treatment.

For expert advice on mental health law, contact the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.