Mind responds to call for evidence opening for Major Conditions Strategy

Vicki Nash, Associate Director of External Relations, said:

“We are deeply concerned that people with mental health problems are being side-lined by this Government - its call for evidence for its Major Conditions Strategy barely addresses mental health. It still makes no sense that a dedicated, cross-department 10-year plan for mental health has been scrapped in favour of a strategy that covers conditions as varied as diabetes, dementia and cancer.

“The UK Government’s published summary of the evidence tens of thousands of people gave for its scrapped Mental Health Plan underlines how urgently it must get a grip of the situation. The message was loud and clear – access to mental health services isn’t good enough, there isn’t the right support for racialised people, young people must be prioritised, and employment and money hugely influence the nation’s mental health. In the midst of a deepening cost of living crisis, these factors will continue to play a huge role in people’s wellbeing, and the need for access to the right support has never been greater.

“The evidence is clear that the UK Government has to tackle the causes of poor mental health to have any hope of making change. The Major Conditions Strategy must be ambitious in how it will do this, have young people at its heart, lay out how Government will support businesses to create mentally healthy workplaces and set out a plan for improving access to services. The UK Government owes it to the tens of thousands of people who have already fed in, and the countless others struggling with mental health problems right now, to reflect their priorities and get this strategy right.”