Call for Evidence for New 10-Year Plan to Improve Mental Health

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) 12-week call for evidence will seek views on what can be improved within the current service and build their understanding of the causes of mental ill-health.

• A call for evidence opens today to inform a new 10-year mental health plan to level up mental health across the country and put mental and physical health on an equal footing
• The public, those with lived experience of mental ill-health, and health and care professionals will have 12 weeks until 5 July to share views on how support and services should adapt for the future
• Plan will build on current progress, assessing how local services can work together to prevent mental ill health

The general public, people of all ages with lived experience of mental health conditions and those who support people with mental ill-health are urged to respond to a 12-week call for evidence to inform a new 10-year mental health plan and a refreshed National Suicide Prevention Plan seeking views on what can be improved within the current service, particularly in light of the pandemic which has led to record levels of people seeking treatment.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:

The pandemic put unprecedented pressure on people across the country. While we continue to expand and transform our mental health services under the NHS Long Term Plan to meet rising demand, we know we need to go further.

Too many people, particularly our children and young people, do not have the tools and support they need to look after their wellbeing or prevent mental health problems from escalating.

We all have a role to play in resetting the way we approach mental health and our new 10-year plan will set an ambitious agenda for where we want the mental health of the nation to be a decade from now.

The call for evidence, which opens Tuesday 12 April and will close on 5 July, seeks to build consensus on the priority actions we need to collectively take to reduce the number of people who go on to develop mental health conditions, especially for children and young people and communities at greatest risk. It’s important responses are reflective of society, include those from people of all ages and backgrounds, to ensure future services work for all.

For further information, click HERE.