Ex-health minister calls for mental health rethink

10 hours ago

Neve Gordon-Farleigh

Norman Lamb is calling for "kinder approaches" to those with mental health issues

BBC Norman Lamb sitting on the red sofa in the BBC Look East studio. He is looking off to the left in the direction of the presenter who cannot be seen in the picture. He is wearing a white and blue checked shirt with a navy blazer over the top. — Norman Lamb is calling for "kinder approaches" to those with mental health issues

A former health minister who has long campaigned on mental health issues, is calling for a reform in the system.

Norman Lamb, represented North Norfolk as the Liberal Democrat MP from 2001 to 2019 and was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Health in 2012.

His new book, Be More Human: Why Mental Health Care Is Broken And What We Can Do To Fix It, explores mental health services in the UK and looks at alternative and intervening measures to treat people in crisis more kindly, with humanity and dignity.

He said: "We can change the system if we have the will to do it and we could have an enormous impact on people's lives."

Lamb said in his role as an MP he "became known" for pursuing mental health issues.

Speaking to Susie Fowler-Watt on BBC Look East, he said: "I had a whole load of situations where people had come to me in a lot of distress experiencing real failure of the system as an MP and as a minister, but when it hits your family it is extremely poignant."

Lamb's late sister Catherine had deep clinical depression and took her own life months after being discharged from an inpatient unit.

He said it was from this tragedy he wanted to explore alternatives to inpatient units including "kinder approaches" of earlier intervention and maintaining relationships.

Lamb is hoping for "a wholly revolutionised mental health system that genuinely offers support to people"

PA Images Norman Lamb is wearing a dark suit jacket, white shirt and striped tie. He is standing on a stage talking into a microphone. His arm is raised and his hand is in the foreground of the picture. The background is black. — Lamb is hoping for "a wholly revolutionised mental health system that genuinely offers support to people"

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In 2019, Lamb received a knighthood with the citation noting in particular his mental health campaigning. Among other roles, he also spent six years as the chair of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, which provides the widest range of mental health services in the UK.

He believes a reform of the mental health system is possible and "absolutely necessary".

His book features a number of other people's stories in the hope of giving a voice to those who have "experienced and survived" the system.

In May, the government announced a new mental health strategy to treat people earlier and faster and to support people with mental health conditions in education, work and family life.

Minister for Mental Health, Baroness Merron, said: "This government believes that mental health should be treated with the same seriousness as physical health, yet too many people across the country are struggling to get the support they need, when they need it."

Over the next four years, the government is set to make £473m available for mental health emergency departments, community mental health centres and support teams in schools and colleges.

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