This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Plan to promote mental well-being
02/09/2002
A national programme to improve Scotland's mental well-being and show that mental health is just as important as physical health was published today.
In the form of a magazine, Well?, it sets out some of the work already under way to improve Scotland's mental health and well being.
The main aims of the plan are to:
- Raise awareness of mental health and well-being issues
- Promote positive mental health and well-being
- Encourage and support action for early identification and intervention when mental health problems occur
The programme focuses on key stages in people's lives - early years, childhood, youth, people of working age and older people - and places considerable importance on employment and working life.
It explains just how common mental health problems like stress, anxiety and depression can be and how they can be addressed. The magazine also looks at the forthcoming framework aimed at reducing suicide and the National Anti-Stigma Campaign which will be launched in the autumn.
Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said:
"Mental health is one of the three key health priorities for NHSScotland. But while we need to continue to improve services and support for people with mental health problems and people with mental illness, we also need to develop a greater understanding of mental health and well-being in Scotland.
"We've already made a lot of progress with the general understanding of serious physical illnesses such as heart disease and cancer and most people understand that these are causes by a combination of life circumstances as well as lifestyle issues.
"Mental health should have the same status and understanding as these physical diseases and the National Programme places it at the centre of the whole health improvement agenda. We need to take a much broader view, where mental health and well-being is accepted as being inextricably linked to good physical health.
Gregor Henderson, National Programme Director, said:
"There can be no health without good mental health this is the premise on which the National Programme is based. The programme - which is an integral part of the wider agenda for public health and health improvement - is an ambitious one.
"The National Programme is vitally important because this is a chance to make good mental health a whole population issue which will lead to significant health improvements in Scotland. The programme is the first real opportunity we have had to enable people in Scotland to understand that they should value their mental health.
"We aim to help provide national leadership and inspiration to support local work in closing the gap between where Scotland's mental health is now and where we know it should, and could, be.
The Executive is investing over £4 million over 3 years in the National Programme to Improve Mental Health and Well-Being in Scotland as part of a drive to achieve significant health improvement for the people of Scotland and to achieve the aims of the Social Justice Strategy.
A National Advisory Group is chaired by Mr Chisholm with members drawn widely from education, business, local authorities, social inclusion, community development, the voluntary sector, health agencies and others.
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES ON MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN SCOTLAND
- 1 in 5 Scots is affected by mental health problems in any one year
- 30 per cent of all GP consultations have a psychological component
- 30 - 40 per cent of absences from work in Scotland are caused by mental health problems
- nearly 3 in 10 employees will have some kind of mental health problem in any one year
- stress-related absence accounts for half of all sickness from work at an estimated cost to UK industry of £4 billion
- rates of suicide in young men have increased by 50 per cent over the last 10 years and fourfold over the last 25
- rates of hospital admission for self-harm have doubled in the last 10 years
- Scotland has the biggest rate of imprisonment in Europe
- Scotland has high levels of violence against women and violence between men
- Early retirement due to stress and burn out is increasing, particularly in the public sector
- Scotland has high binge-drinking patterns and high levels of alcohol abuse compared to other countries in Europe
- Scotland has double the level of intravenous drug use compared to England
- 82 per cent of people disabled (self definition) by mental ill health are unemployed in the UK
- 117,000 people in Scotland with mental health problems want to work, but are currently unemployed.
- Depression in young women (aged 15 and up) is increasing
- 70-80 per cent of people with a diagnosis of a severe mental illness recover