Legal News

Public Health England’s Mental Health Intelligence Network has launched a new resource designed to help local organisations decide how to best gauge the mental wellbeing of children and young people in their area.

Figures show half of all mental health problems emerge before the age of 14 – and one in ten children is diagnosed with a mental health problem.

Mental wellbeing is a measure of people’s emotions – as well as their ability to function as individuals and as members of society, often defined as “feeling good and functioning well”.

Mental wellbeing widely affects individuals, as well as their quality of life and the wider society.

Research shows that high levels of mental wellbeing are also associated with improved recovery from illness and reductions in early death.

The Public Health England (PHE) resource highlights the importance of local organisations measuring and acting to improve the mental wellbeing of children and young people.

The resource also helps organisations identify local opportunities to enhance mental wellbeing – such as community activities or physical activities.

Organisations can also use the resource to identify factors which might have a negative impact on local children’s mental wellbeing – such as high crime rates and family breakdown.

Chief Economist and Head of Health Intelligence Networks at PHE, Professor Brian Ferguson, said:

“We know that positive mental wellbeing has an enormous impact on children and young people – and is an essential part of their ability to develop, flourish and lead rich fulfilling lives.

“But in order to intervene effectively, local organisations need an accurate picture of the situation in their area. Our resource outlines the best means by which they can do this.

“Ultimately, better data means better understanding – and better decisions for policy and practice.”

In February 2015, a group of leading mental health charities – including Mind, The Mental Health Foundation, Rethink Mental Illness, the NHS Confederation Mental Health Network, the Centre for Mental Health and the Royal College of Psychiatrists – published a letter saying that government cuts to mental health budgets were a ”false economy”.

The group warned that any future budget cuts in mental services were likely to put more lives at risk in a service that is already under-funded – including children’s mental health services.

The letter coincided with publication of a report which claimed early-intervention services in children’s mental health services had been cut in the previous year. In 2014, children’s mental health organisations warned that NHS children’s mental health services were overstretched – and near to breaking point in some areas of the country.

The new resource to measure mental wellbeing is available at PHE.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Lawyers

Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and our mental health lawyers regularly visit police stations and hospitals to advise on mental health law, including detention under the Mental Health Act.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health lawyers may be able to advise the Nearest Relative or carer of a mental health patient on mental health law, including access to services and initiating treatment reviews, where appropriate.
For expert legal advice on mental health law, contact the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.