Do they want my Vote, do you think?
Afer years of negelct and ignoring pleas for assistance from charities and mental health organisations, the Government has today (very shortly before the next General Election) announced a “radical shift” to their mental health strategy and approach.
The strategy is aimed at preventing the development of mental health conditions amongst “at risk” victims of abuse, the homeless, and ex-servicemen.
The plan is to employ mental health co-ordinators in job centres, and to launch nine occupational health advice lines for small businesses, to help them retain employees with mental health difficutlies. The Access to Work programme is to be extended, to provide temporary cover when a worker is unable to work because of his/her condition.
However, to date, there is no explanation of how the proposals are to be funded, and we await this information with interest, as Paul Jenkins, Chief Executive of Rethink said “We know that in a recession mental health budgets are vulnerable to cuts, and we need to hear some government guarantees about funding priorities”
This writer just questions the timing of this long awaited “feel-good” bit of news……….
Read the full story at www.disabilitynow.org.uk
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