BBC ACTION NETWORK INFORMATION

By BBC Action Network team


Telephone helplines provide support
Telephone helplines provide support
Whether it is stress at work or clinical depression, one in four people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their life.

But this costs the economy an estimated £11.6bn a year, according to one report, and some argue that our mental health system is still failing its patients.

This briefing outlines the problems facing mental health patients, what is being done to change the system and how you can get involved on mental health issues, both nationally and in your community.

1. What are the concerns of mental health campaigners?

Mental health organisations have long argued that the mental health system is riddled with problems. Listed below are some of the arguments they put forward:

Mental health sufferers are stigmatised
Mental health sufferers face discrimination in the workplace and at the hands of the benefits system, leaving them impoverished, unemployed and sometimes homeless, according to the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. The Royal College of Psychiatrists wants people who suffer from mental health conditions to have the same rights and protections as people with physical disabilities. Its website has more information about stigmatisation.

The welfare system fails mental health patients
A Citizens’ Advice Bureau report published in April 2004 highlighted the difficulties that people with mental health problems encounter when dealing with the benefits system and managing personal finances. Campaigners want to see mental health advisers at job centres and increased mental health awareness for all benefits staff. Read about Mind’s benefits’ campaign or its views on the welfare reform bill.

It is too difficult to access the mental health system
People experience problems when trying to get help from the mental health system. A 2003 report from Rethink found that one in four people are turned away when seeking help for mental illness and waiting times for treatment are very long. They have produced a paper looking at what the future of mental health (PDF) might be.

Patients should be more involved in their treatment
There is too much emphasis on prescribing drugs to solve conditions, campaigners argue, and a survey by Norwich Union Healthcare in March 2004 showed most GPs admitted to over-prescribing anti-depressants. The Mental Health Foundation encourage people with problems such as depression to consider other factors such as diet and exercise as important parts of any treatment.

There isn’t enough openness about prescription drugs
There is concern about the amount of information available to the public about the potential risks and side-effects of drugs. Mind has previously campaigned for stricter drug regulation and is still lobbying Parliament for changes to the system.

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2. Will legislation address these concerns?

There are several pieces of legislation going through Parliament that, if passed, would address some of the concerns of mental health campaigners.

The Mental Health Bill
The main piece of legislation the government is hoping to introduce is the Mental Health Bill.

While mental health charities point to shortcomings in the mental health system, the government and other groups are concerned that current laws do not offer enough protection to the public. They argue that doctors need more powers in order to detain and forcibly treat people with serious mental illness who may pose a threat to the public.

This bill would allow people with severe personality disorders to be detained—whether or not they have committed a crime—and it has provoked considerable controversy. To find out more you can read The Mental Health Bill: an Action Network briefing.


Mental Capacity Act
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is due to come into effect in England and Wales in 2007. The Act changes laws concerned with decision-making for the mentally-ill, as well as other groups of people who may lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves, such as stroke victims and those with age-related dementia.

Health professionals and carers must now assume that a person has the ability to make decisions about their own treatment, unless it can be proved otherwise. If they suspect that someone is incapable of making a decision, then they must follow certain steps:

* Apply a test to assess whether a person is able to take a particular decision at that time
* Find out if the person wishes to nominate somebody to make decisions about their treatment
* If taking decisions on someone’s behalf, then ensure everything done follows the checklist and is in their best interests

The Act is accompanied by a code of practice, which provides guidance on how the new law is applied in everyday situations. It is aimed at anyone who works with or cares for a person covered by the Act, including family, friends and unpaid carers.

You can find more information about the Act from the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Making Decisions Alliance, a group of organisations working with people who have difficulty making or communicating decisions.


Disability Discrimination Act
Under the Disability Discrimination Act people with mental health problems are granted the same protections as physically-disabled people and have certain rights in the workplace such as:

* A right to flexibility in working hours, which may be necessary to attend counselling
* Exemption from speaking to large gatherings, if requested

If these rights are not granted then the employer can be challenged in the courts or at a tribunal. Mind has more information about mental health rights and the Disability Discrimination Act, and Rethink also has information on laws covering mental health, including the Human Rights Act, and the Disability Discrimination and Mental Capacity Acts.


Where can I find out about my rights?
The BBC Mental Health website spells out your rights under the mental health act. The mental health charity Rethink also has information on legal rights. The Hyperguide to the Mental Health Act provides a useful summary of the current law.

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3. What else is the government doing?

The government has said it will also tackle some of the problems highlighted by mental health campaigning groups. The Social Exclusion Unit published a report into tackling the social exclusion of mental health patients in June 2004.

In response, the government launched an action plan which it said would aim to:

* Clarify benefit rules for those who want employment
* Provide employment advisers for people with severe mental health problems
* Provide support for those interested in self-employment
* Provide better access to financial and legal advice
* Improve the service provided by mental health day care centres
* Work with the police and criminal justice system on mental health issues

This action plan is being driven forward by the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMHE) which has launched a review of what works in tackling stigma and discrimination.

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4. How to get involved

Have your say on local health service provision
As a user of the health service you have the right to make your views heard on local health service provision. Read the Action Network guide on How you can get involved in improving NHS services in England for more on this. Mind has information on how to have a say at a regional level. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) has a Citizens’ Council, which you can volunteer for to make your views on mental health treatment guidelines known.

Get involved locally
If you have the appropriate experience, you could help local support groups, such as the North Staffordshire Users Group, which is led by and for mental health service users. It supports self-help and promotes the views of mental health service users, and provides volunteers who attend hospital meetings and others to help people get their voice heard. Your local primary care trust will have a list of your local support groups.

Join the local branches of national campaigns by mental health charities. You can find your local Mind. Rethink, a mental health charity, has produced a guide to local campaigning.

Provide support for local telephone helplines, which are often run by volunteers. The Mental Health Helplines Partnership Project has a list of telephone helplines.

Lobby your council to set up online support forums such as Kooth, an online counselling service for Stockport youth provided by the council.

The BBC runs Action Network as an open forum for people to influence issues they care about. Most of the content is written by the public and reflects their views.