WIREDGOV

A framework for developing well-being by adopting a broad-based public health approach to maintaining good mental health was launched today by Care Services Minister Phil Hope.

The ‘Confident Communities, Brighter Futures’ report offers a systematic evidence base from which local authorities and the NHS can act to reduce inequalities and improve mental health in their areas.

The report brings together for the first time the key evidence, and aims to raise the profile of public mental health within organisations and across communities. By encouraging the inclusion of mental well-being in joint strategic needs assessments, it strongly supports the case for how they link to commissioning priorities in local area agreements.

Eleven per cent of the NHS annual budget is spent on mental health services. And recent estimates put the wider economic costs at around £110 billion UK-wide.

Mental health problems are linked to a range of wider problems, poor physical health, poor educational achievement, sickness absence, and even crime. Half of all mental illness starts by age 14 but by ensuring a positive start in life up to a half of these are preventable.

The report highlights early intervention and prevention through programmes such as psychological therapies, healthy workplaces and initiatives to reduce workplace stress, as well as education and lifelong learning to promote well-being and resilience.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope said:

“Mental illness accounts for more than 20 per cent of the total burden of disease in the UK, more than cardiovascular disease and cancer.

“If we act early on in people’s lives we can influence their life course and reduce the inequalities they face. It can help people realise their potential, cope with adversity, hold down a job and contribute to building stronger communities.

“It is everyone’s business – local authorities, the NHS, communities and individuals all have a role to play in preventing poor mental health.