What are the key inequalities?

See the Facts and Figures section where those at greatest risk of developing mental ill health are identified.  As there is not currently adequate local data, more work is needed to understand particular mental health inequalities in Newcastle.

What are the key gaps in knowledge/services?

There is not enough emphasis on preventing and treating mild to moderate mental illness. General practice provides most of the treatment and because of pressures of time and lack of any alternative this usually results in a prescription for anti-depressants. There is under-provision of cognitive therapy. (Health Improvement Strategy for Newcastle 2007 - 2017)

• Continuity of funding for service providers, in particular voluntary sector who have new innovative solutions which have lost their funding;
• Knowledge of what is currently available in the community is patchy;
• Sharing work and joining it up is always difficult;
• Religious and cultural differences - stigma, prejudice and racism;
• Benefits system (creates problems when people change benefit or taken off benefits against their will).

(Health Improvement Strategy Action Planning Events, Community Action on Health (CAOH))

What are the risks of not delivering our targets?

• People with anxiety or depression at a greater risk of:
  • stigma and discrimination;
  • socially isolation;
  • morbidity

• People with anxiety and depression not:
  • being offering appropriate support;
  • gaining adequate access to appropriate treatment;
  • being included in planning for their own recovery.
• Increased costs in terms of use of health services and time lost from work

Is what we are doing working?

• A number of community based mental health promotion projects have been established, but these tend to exist as small pockets of good practice rather than available to whole communities, and many rely on short-term funding.
• In many cases, access to cognitive behaviour therapy, psychotherapy and counselling are a lottery based on location and the inclination of the GP to refer to such services.
• Better joined up working between Social Services, GPs, Health Visitors, Probation, schools, voluntary sector, community services would improve education and access to services.

What is coming on the horizon?

In 2009, the government's ten-year plan - the National Service Framework (NSF) for Mental Health - will come to an end, signaling a new era. Important policy choices must be made to ensure both that its achievements are built upon and its shortcomings tackled.

Work on developing tangible outcome measures for the Action Plan for Promoting Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing in Newcastle is currently being drafted.

What should we be doing next?

Ensure implementation of the objectives in the action plan to include:

1. Improving access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT)
2. Improve access to mental health and emotional wellbeing support in the workplace such as- SHiFT in Action on Stigma (www.shift.org.uk/employment);- Mindful employers
3. Support people on incapacity benefit into work
4. Build on the work being done in the Healthy Schools Programme on the core theme of emotional health and well being and extend this work into community settings.