Mental health

Good mental wellbeing at all ages supports and enables strong relationships, educational achievement, physical health and access to employment. Mental health, including for children and young people, has been particularly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the next four years we will:

• Commit to further improving the knowledge, competencies and skills of the workforce in relation to mental health promotion and suicide prevention.
• Sign up to the Prevention Concordat and develop a place based approach to mental health promotion.
• Work with partners (including business and industry and voluntary sector) to promote mental resilience and wellbeing.
• Increase access to low level, responsive support to prevent needs escalating, including self-harm and suicide.
• Address inequalities in mental health with a particular focus on vulnerable communities, for example BAME communities, asylum seekers and LGBTQ+ communities.
• Improve the life expectancy and healthy life expectancy of people living with poor mental health.
• Promote parity of esteem – so that mental health is placed on a par with physical health.
• Ensure people at risk of suicide are identified earlier and provided access to evidence-based interventions, paying particular attention to:
  • Men, including men in contact with or in transition through the criminal justice system
  • Children and young people, including university students
  • Self-harm as a risk factor