A Declaration calling for a radical increase in investment in mental health research will be made at Downing Street today. The Declaration, part of the Research Mental Health initiative, has the backing of dozens of leading scientists and public figures including:
It calls upon the Government, the National Health Service, funding bodies, research institutions, the pharmaceutical industry and the third sector to commit to making mental health research a joint priority.
Research Mental Health says a trebling in mental health research investment is needed, as mental illness causes 15 per cent of the country’s disease burden* but receives just five per cent of total health research spending.
Currently, around £74 million a year is spent on researching mental illness. For mental health research investment to match the impact mental illness has on people in terms of premature death and disability, Research Mental Health wants to see this figure reach £200 million a year within the next five years.
Signatories to the Declaration believe that with proper research, the breakthroughs necessary for new treatments for mental illness will be made in the next 20 years. Already, the economic, social and human cost of mental illness totals £100 billion a year in the UK. More research would also reduce these costs and save the economy money - it is estimated that the combined health and GDP gains from mental health research is 37 pence for every £1 invested each year.
Getting a fairer deal for mental illness
Investment in physical illnesses has led to major advances, states the Declaration, such as a doubling in cancer survival rates in the last 30 years and people are living longer with once fatal conditions such as heart disease. Mental illness has yet to attract the same level of investment as physical disease, but Research Mental Health says that with more funding, progress could be made in the next 20 years that would dramatically increase our understanding of mental illness and ability to treat it.
The Research Mental Health initiativeis being led by the Institute of Psychiatry, part of King’s College London and the Mental Health Foundation. The Declaration will be made at a Number 11 Downing Street reception this evening, hosted by Maggie Darling, wife of the Chancellor Alistair Darling.
To lend your support visit Research Mental Health Website
Understanding of mental illness moving at a snail’s pace
Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said:
“Our understanding of mental illness is moving at a snail’s pace. Whilst treatments have improved, we have not yet seen the breakthroughs needed to significantly reduce the massive economic and social damage caused by mental illness. Many promising treatments never reach people with a mental illness who desperately need them because of a lack of research and evidence.”
Til Wykes, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, said:
“Proper investment in mental health research could bring major breakthroughs in the next 20 years and dramatically change our understanding of mental illness and our ability to prevent and treat it. We have expert researchers, scientists and organisations working in this area but need to bring them together and give them more resource if we are really going to help those who suffer from mental illness.”
Signatories’ comments
Speech Debelle, rapper and Mercury award winner, said:
“Mental health is not something that gets talked about much, yet affects everyone. Research Mental Health deserves our support as people aren’t getting help when they need it most.”
Melanie C, singer, said:
“I am supporting Research Mental Health because 1 in 4 people in the UK suffer mental health problems every year and many do not get the help they need. They are not getting enough help due to many reasons, one of which is stigma, as sadly mental health is still a taboo subject.”
ENDS
* The disease burden is measured in terms of both premature death and disability. The unit of measurement was developed by the World Health Organisation.
NOTES TO EDITORS
For more information and images, a copy of the declaration and signatories, or to arrange interviews, please contact the Mental Health Foundation press office on 020 7803 1130 / 1128 or email sloveland@mhf.org.uk / fgorman@mhf.org.uk (24 hour mobile 07967 586489).
Research Mental Health is not a new organisation but an initiative by the Institute of Psychiatry and the Mental Health Foundation to promote the importance of mental health research in the UK.
Mental Health Foundation uses research and practical projects to help people survive, recover from and prevent mental health problems. We work to influence policy, including government at the highest levels. And we use our knowledge to raise awareness and to help tackle the stigma attached to mental illness. We reach millions of people every year through our media work, information booklets and online services.
The Institute of Psychiatry provides post-graduate education and carries out research in psychiatry, psychology, and allied disciplines, including basic and clinical neurosciences. The Institute is world renowned for the quality of its research and it became a school of King’s College London in August 1997
King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2008) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 21,000 students from nearly 140 countries, and more than 5,700 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.
King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.
King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services.
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