MHFA England has joined a coalition of over 50 voluntary and social sector organisations with a letter to the Prime Minister today, calling for a cross-government approach to put the nation’s mental health at the heart of its Covid-19 recovery plan.
Organisations including MHFA England, Samaritans, Mental Health UK, Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, Mental Health Foundation, Centre for Mental Health, and Young Minds, joined by organisations across the voluntary sector, have warned that the mental health system will fail to cope with an increase in demand without a comprehensive and fundamentally new approach to mental health.
The impact of months of social isolation, soaring levels of anxiety and the acute distress of bereavement has exacerbated existing health inequalities and is expected to be compounded by significant financial insecurity faced by households across the country, with an estimated half a million more people expected to experience mental health problems as a result of the economic impact of Covid-19.
In their letter to the Prime Minister, the coalition members highlight how voluntary sector organisations quickly adapted to provide support in the initial months of the pandemic and have worked with people with lived experience of poor mental health to help shape solutions.
The full social contract report can be read here.
The letter in full:
Dear Prime Minister,
Covid-19 has changed the world as we know it. The devastating loss of life, months of social isolation and widespread financial instability has brought despair to individuals, families and communities. The initial pandemic has created a new crisis for our nation’s mental health. If we do not take urgent cross-government action our nation’s mental health will pay a heavy price for years to come.
As a group of over 50 voluntary and social sector organisations we have come together in an unprecedented coalition. We represent some of the UK’s most vulnerable people and speak with one voice and with one clear call: the UK government must urgently work with us to establish a Mental Health Renewal Plan, with the financial and political backing, at the highest level, to turn this into immediate action.
We are already seeing the effects of the crisis on our nation’s mental health. Research by our organisations has shown that almost 80 percent of people living with mental illness have reported that their mental health has got worse as a result of the crisis; more than 7,000 times a day, people struggling to cope are receiving emotional support from Samaritans; and almost half of the UK population is experiencing high levels of anxiety.
Before the crisis, many people in our society with mental health problems were already struggling to access the basic support needed to stay well. But with an estimated half a million more people likely to experience mental health problems as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic, continuing with business as usual is now not an option.
We know, as you do, that no one organisation, agency or government department can provide the solutions to the enormous challenge facing us. But as Prime Minister, you have the authority to convene all the right people to make this happen. Together we can lead the world in delivering a Covid-19 recovery that puts the nation’s mental health at its heart.
For this to be a success, not only does the Mental Health Renewal Plan have to be driven by a cross-government group but also will need to involve the people in our communities who are either experiencing or at risk of poor mental health to identify the solutions that will work best for them. As a sector, during the pandemic we have found new ways to provide support, advice and information when people need it. Drawing on what we knew before this crisis and what has emerged during it, we want to use our expertise to work with you to grasp from this horrific experience the rare opportunity to create a better future for the mental health and wellbeing of the nation.
We are calling on the government to work in full partnership with the mental health and wider voluntary sector and their allies to shape a New Social Contract for a mentally healthier society. Only through collaboration, partnership and fully involving people who are struggling with their mental health in the development of a plan can we prevent the looming mental health crisis, tackle health inequalities and enable the UK to rebound stronger from this pandemic.
We the undersigned commit to work in partnership with the UK government to develop and deliver a Mental Health Renewal Plan.
Full list of signatories:
Caroline Abrahams, CEO, Age UK
Kate Lee, CEO, Alzheimer's Society
Michael Samuel, Chair of Board, Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Kathy Roberts, CEO, Association of Mental Health Providers
Emma Rigby, CEO, Association of Young People's Health
Kay Boycott, CEO, Asthma UK
Andrew Radford, CEO, Beat
Kay Boycott, CEO, British Lung Foundation
Helen Walker, CEO, Carers UK
Sarah Hughes, CEO, Centre for Mental Health
Clare Stafford CEO, Charlie Waller Memorial Trust
Poppy Jaman, CEO, City Mental Health Alliance
Steven Wibberley, CEO, Cruse Bereavement Care
Chris Askew, CEO, Diabetes UK
Sinead McBrearty, CEO, Education Support
Ronnie Wilson, CEO, First Step Trust
Paula Ojok, CEO, Helplines Partnership
Natalie Seymour, Clinical Psychologies/Clinical Lead, MAC-UK
Matthew Reed, CEO, Marie Curie
Alison Pay, CEO, Mental Health at Work
Simon Blake, CEO, Mental Health First Aid England
Mark Rowland, CEO, Mental Health Foundation
Victoria Hornby, CEO, Mental Health Innovations
Sean Duggan, CEO, Mental Health Network
Brian Dow, CEO, Mental Health UK
Paul Farmer, CEO, Mind
Anna Feuchtwang, CEO, National Children’s Bureau & Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition
Jacqui Morrissey, Co-Chair, National Suicide Prevention Alliance
Akiko Hart, CEO, National Survivor User Network
Leigh Wallbank, CEO, OCD Action
Ged Lynn, CEO, PAPYRUS
Catherine Roche, CEO, Place2Be
Jabeer Butt, CEO, Race Equality Foundation
Mark Winstanley, CEO, Rethink Mental Illness
Nathan Dick, Head of Policy, Revolving Doors Agency
Neil Tester, Director, Richmond Group of Charities
Catherine Johnstone, CEO, Royal Voluntary Services
Ruth Sutherland, CEO, Samaritans
James Watson O’Neill, CEO, SignHealth
Nancy Kelley, CEO, Stonewall
Juliet Bouverie, CEO, Stroke Association
Rosie Tressler, CEO, Student Minds
Brendan Hill, CEO, The Concern Group
Chris Martin, CEO, The Mix
Amanda Janoo, Knowledge and Policy Lead, The Wellbeing Economy Alliance
Phil Pyatt, CEO, TimeBank
Linda Bryant, CEO, Together for Mental Wellbeing
Thomas Lawson, CEO, Turn2us
Liam O'Toole, CEO, Versus Arthritis
Emma Thomas, CEO, YoungMinds
Barry Williams, Interim CEO, Youth Access
