Location: United Kingdom
The Mental Health Foundation has called on the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to avoid being left red-faced in his first 100 days as PM by demonstrating leadership and prioritising prevention of poor mental health.
Accompanied by a six-foot bottle of SPF sunblock bearing the message “SPF: Support Prevention First”, the charity has made its call outside the Houses of Parliament alongside the eye-catching prop. The Foundation is using its giant sunscreen bottle to prompt decision makers and the public to address the question “We protect our skin before damage appears. Why not our mental health?”
The stunt is part of a wider movement to change the national conversation from managing mental ill health to preventing it.
Prevention of poor mental health is about policies and programmes that aim to stop someone from experiencing a diagnosable mental health condition before it occurs. Currently, the health service and UK government policy primarily focuses on treating mental health conditions after they emerge. This is even though many mental health problems – and the suffering associated with them - are entirely preventable with the right support.
Naqi Azizi, a Mental Health Foundation supporter, Mental Health First Aider, and Young Leader who attended the launch, said:
“The government should prioritise prevention because focusing on the crisis and just referring people to services when they've hit the absolute lowest isn't working any more.
“Prevention should therefore be prioritised alongside navigation of poor mental health. This will give young people effective tools and signposting resources to support themselves but also empower those around them, otherwise they’ll be left feeling even more lost.”
Examples of prevention in action can include anti-bullying programmes in schools, regulation to reduce exposure to harmful online content, and support in the workplace to help people during stressful or difficult times, such as long-term sickness. Preventative policies often promote things that are proven to be good for our mental health, such as community, having a secure home, and living a life free from discrimination.
The Foundation’s call on the Prime Minister is backed by 15 other mental health charities and organisations, including Mind, the Samaritans, and the Centre for Mental Health. To make this message impossible to miss, the Foundation have also sent Andy Burnham a postcard displaying the mental health SPF bottle, and calling on the Prime Minister to prioritise prevention.
The charity says there is no better way to make its prevention message heard than by taking an unavoidably-large tube of SPF right outside Parliament, where the message to Support Prevention First cannot be missed.
Alexa Knight, Director of Policy & Influencing at the Mental Health Foundation, said:
“Now, more than ever, we need our message to be loud and clear: Prevention works. Poor mental health isn’t inevitable with the right prevention support in place. The best way to tackle it is to stop mental health problems before they begin.
“To avoid being left red-faced by growing levels of poor mental health Andy Burnham needs SPF – to Support Prevention First.
“The UK is standing at a pivotal moment. Mental health problems have risen steeply across the UK over the last decade. The most significant increases have been for children and young people. Meanwhile, the national response remains overstretched and is struggling to address rising distress. Now is the time for the government to shift from crisis management to prevention.
“We know that the public want to see poor mental health reduced, and less people suffering. We need our new Prime Minister to lead the shift from treatment to prevention. Getting the UK government to Support Prevention First is the only way we will achieve this.”
The 15 mental health organisation leaders backing the Foundation’s call to Support Prevention First are:
- Claire Evans, Acting CEO, Anna Freud
- Vanessa Longley, CEO, Beat
- Andy Bell, Chief Executive, Centre for Mental Health
- Efua Poku-Amanfo, Head, Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition
- Ellen O’Donaghue, Chief Executive, James' Place
- Victoria Hornby, CEO, Mental Health Innovations
- Brian Dow, Chief Executive, Mental Health UK
- Dr Sarah Hughes CBE, Chief Executive, Mind
- Sarah McIntosh, Chief Executive, MHFA England
- Helen Undy, Chief Executive, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute
- Bryony Doughty, Director of Marketing & Communication, MQ Mental Health Research
- Catherine Roche, Chief Executive Officer, Place2Be
- Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive, Rethink Mental Illness
- Julie Bentley, Chief Executive, Samaritans
- Abigail Ampofo, Interim CEO, Young Minds