Lords' Debate

Just finished Hansard on mental health.  It is too difficult to précis but the recurring theme is that mental health should be treated the same as physical health.  There is, for example, very little research into mental health conditions, compared with cancer research, and yet more people have a mental health problem than have cancer.  We are more likely to die earlier, sometimes by 20 years, mostly because of untreated physical illnesses caused by drugs and fags - 42% of smokers are psychiatric patients and 70% of those in an inpatient setting smoke.  The Lords who spoke all supported the debate and made the case for parity.  One said that many people with severe and enduring illnesses like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are left to their own devices as they can't be cured - yet people with mild depression and anxiety are offered psychological therapies as a matter of course.  The IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Services) service refuses to take those of us with more severe illnesses as they feel there is nothing they can do for us.  The waiting list for IAPT is months and sometimes years, by which time people will have deteriorated and might be in need of secondary services.  Physical illnesses have a Government decided limit on waiting times - not so mental health.

There's more, but that will do for the time being.