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<p>Mental health has been a priority for this Government for several years now. We
made this commitment explicit in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 which, for the
first time, creates equal status for mental and physical health across Government
and for the NHS and social care.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministerial Advisory Group brings
together individuals and organisations with a specific interest in the cross government
mental health strategy <em>No Health Without Mental Health</em> and how it is delivered.</p><p>
</p><p>The Mandate to NHS England 2014-15 makes clear that 'everyone who needs it
should have timely access to evidence-based services', this will involve extending
and ensuring more open access to programmes, in particular for children and young
people, and for those out of work.</p><p> </p><p><em>Closing the Gap</em>, our new
mental health action plan, which has attracted widespread, cross-sector support, sets
out our priorities for essential change in mental health, 25 areas where people can
expect to see and experience the fastest changes. The document challenges the health
and social care community to move further and faster to transform care and support;
the public health community, alongside local government, to give health and wellbeing
promotion and prevention the long-overdue attention it needs and deserves; and individuals
and communities to shift attitudes in mental health.</p><p> </p><p>The Department
of Health is leading an information revolution around mental health. The new national
Mental Health Intelligence Network will draw together comprehensive information about
mental health and wellbeing.</p><p> </p><p>The new Crisis Care Concordat, signed by
more than 20 national organisations, is a commitment for all agencies involved in
supporting someone in a crisis to work together to improve the system of care and
support so people in crisis are kept safe and helped to find the support they need.
All the signatories have pledged to work together and our expectation is that, in
every locality in England, local partnerships of health, criminal justice and local
authority agencies will agree and commit to local Mental Health Crisis Declarations.</p><p>
</p><p>System partners are also taking responsibility for the drive for parity. Public
Health England (PHE) has made a commitment to addressing parity of esteem through
prioritising mental health and working to embed it throughout all PHE programmes.
Greater attention is needed to mental health throughout the public health system and
PHE seeks to enable and support this through its leadership and delivery of a Wellbeing
and Mental Health programme. It is supporting local authorities and other partners
to give greater attention to mental health within the public health system.</p><p>
</p><p>PHE was established on 1 April 2013 with the mission to protect and improve
the nation's health and to address inequalities through working with national and
local government, the NHS, industry and the voluntary and community sector. PHE is
an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health.</p><p> </p><p>PHE
has made a commitment to addressing parity of esteem through prioritising mental health
and working to embed it throughout all its programmes. Greater attention is needed
to mental health throughout the public health system and PHE seeks to enable and support
this through its leadership and delivery of a Wellbeing and Mental Health programme.
It is supporting local authorities and other partners to give greater attention to
mental health within the public health system.</p><p> </p><p>Their approach centres
on the following five main objectives:</p><p> </p><p>1. Promoting good mental health
and improving population wellbeing;</p><p>2. Preventing mental health problems and
preventing suicide and self-harm;</p><p>3. Supporting people living with and recovering
from mental illness;</p><p>4. Tackling inequalities and improving the wider determinants
of wellbeing and mental health; and</p><p>5. Enabling and embedding wellbeing and
mental health across the public health system.</p><p> </p><p>PHE has embraced the
principles of Parity of Esteem and from the outset and all through transition, there
has been a commitment by PHE to ensure mental health is a core part of the new public
health system and PHE's work. Even though there was no central national resource attached
to mental health to be transferred into PHE, they have invested in establishing a
presence for mental health across their work and they continue to embed population
mental health and wellbeing across public health.</p><p> </p><p>Health Education England
is developing training programmes that will enable all healthcare employers to ensure
that their staff have a greater awareness of mental health problems and how they may
affect their patients. This will include understanding the links between patient's
physical and mental health, so that staff know what actions they can take to ensure
that patients receive appropriate support for both their mental and physical health
care needs.</p><p> </p>
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