Whilst those of us with an interest in mental health have a cause to celebrate we cannot rest on our laurels because for many people with mental health conditions face a continuous struggle for access to health. We need attitudes towards mental health to change at individual and community level, we need activists who will fight for mental health at local and national government level and at International level. For instance, the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 has set local, global and national targets for countries to meet including mental health promotion and prevention. Bringing together primary care, secondary care and community resources using a collaborative approach will go a long way towards improving the life expectancy of those with mental health conditions. There has been a systematic failure of many health care systems in preventing, identifying and treating physical diseases in mental health conditions partly through a failure of recognition that a policy is a care package not just a tool.

Source: Huffington Post March 26, 2017 18:46 UTC