The "Do You Mind?" campaign is being undertaken to draw attention to the serious shortfall in provision of mental health services in Cheshire East.
But awareness is not enough, we need action!
The CCG's in Cheshire East come in at numbers 190 and 192 (out of 210) in terms of spend per head of population on mental health.* Cheshire East spends 10%** of the total available health budget on mental health versus the 23% disease burden related to mental health nationally. This is a serious level of underfunding.
* Reply to written question 8604 UK Parliament September 2015
** Extract from 2013/14 NHS benchmarking report
There’s to be yet another review of Adult and Older People’s Mental Health Services in Cheshire East this summer/autumn.
This review includes the possibility of closing the Millbrook inpatient unit in Macclesfield. The ramifications would be severe because the Millbrook unit is the last remaining acute care inpatient facility in Cheshire East. Patients requiring such support would in future be sent to hospitals many miles from their home area.
We must lobby together for an improvement in funding and service provision, not more cuts.
In the UK, mental health problems are responsible for the largest burden of disease– 23%* of the total burden, compared to 16% each for cancer and heart disease. We need to tackle root causes and stop the problem being displaced onto GP services and A&E departments
* The five year forward view for mental health February 2016
Emergency contact
We are a campaign group and cannot give help with individual mental health issues, should you require help the following organisations may be of help: