Mental Health Services - Is There an Issue?

If you asked this question to the group of individuals who are launching their campaign "", there is. Especially with the lack of continuity of care for students who live in different locations throughout the academic year.

If you asked this question to the group of individuals who are launching their campaign "Hope At Hand", there is. Especially with the lack of continuity of care for students who live in different locations throughout the academic year.

Hope At Hand brings the focus towards the lack of care continuity when students split their year between living at home, or staying at university which could be in a different county. Due to long waiting lists, and often communication breakdown, students are left with little or no support during their transition from home to university and back again. Many students miss out on any care at all due to the long waiting lists as the NHS mental health services have not got the resources to meet the ever growing demand that is arising.

Hope At Hand are focused on improving the mental health services for the next generation of students, so that they don't 'fall through the net' like many of those they know.

There are very limited statistics to prove this case due to lack of investigation, but this campaign was set up by those who have either studied away from home, or are doing so at the moment. Their experience is first hand, and their views are based on the stories they've heard from other students struggling.

This comes at a time where the UK budget cuts are at the forefront of political debate, and politicians are coming under fire for their decisions to cut NHS funding.

Many NHS staff are far overstretched at the moment. Nearly everyday there are tragic headlines of where patients have been let down, but who's to blame? Is is the NHS staff themselves, or the lack of funding for more very needed staff?

It's vital that the NHS receives the funding it needs to sustain itself, but in times of economic struggle, are we expecting too much?

What is the answer to improving these life saving services, without stretching NHS staff to the point of despair?

Hope At Hand believe that maybe the mental health services across the UK need reforming.

In Norfolk, a life saving crisis line phone number provided by MIND is set to close March 31st this year due to funding issues. With crisis teams here already overun with patients, the MIND support line eased the pressures by providing information, and healthy guidance which often prevented the need for crisis team input.

With services like this all over the country losing their funding, how will the mental health services cope, when they appear to be struggling to meet the needs of every patient already.

ITV Anglia are currently running a series of mental health related segments, and tonight (23rd Feb), the founder of Hope At Hand will be interviewed on her experiences of the mental health services in the last 6 months, and highlighting where it all went wrong for one of her closest friends who nearly lost her life due to the lack of safeguarding whilst she was acutely unwell.

You can join the conversation on twitter using #HAHUK (Hope at Hand UK) or tweet them at @HopeAtHandUK

Read more of their story, and what they are campagining for on their website or facebook page:

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