Alexa Knight
The summer of 2026 will be remembered for scorchingly hot temperatures, parched ground, and reaching for the sunblock on a daily basis. Protecting our skin before damage appears has become second nature to most of us, thanks to huge shifts in understanding of the dangers of sunburn and skin cancer, and how to avoid it. But many mental health problems are also preventable. So why are we (individuals, wider society, and government) not doing more when it comes to protecting our mental health before damage appears?
SPF represents stopping harm before it happens. We already do this for our skin. When it comes to our mental health, we need a radical shift in approach. We need to tackle poor mental health before it begins. We need to Support Prevention First.
In the context of a worsening mental health crisis, treatment alone cannot keep up. Mental health services are overloaded. We cannot treat our way out of this crisis. We need action which stops people from reaching crisis point in the first place. It's time for the government to shift from crisis management to prevention. And we need our new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to lead the shift.
Getting this message to Andy Burnham could not wait. We need the government to think differently about mental health. And we have been thinking differently ourselves, with a bold, new approach to making ourselves heard. We took a giant tube of sunblock right outside parliament, where our message cannot be missed. To really deliver the point home, we have sent Andy Burnham a postcard displaying our mental health SPF message, explaining why it's time for the government to Support Prevention First.
We’re not alone in thinking this. We have been joined by 15 other organisations working in mental health, and mental health Young Leaders, calling on Andy Burnham to prioritise prevention of poor mental health in his first 100 days as Prime Minister.
Poor mental health is not inevitable
Why this urgent message? Because prevention works. Poor mental health isn’t inevitable with the right prevention support in place. With the right interventions and political will we can:
- Protect children and young people’s mental health from the harms of bullying
- Protect workers with mentally healthy workplaces
- Protect people from online harms with proper regulation of digital spaces.
We cannot simply watch a crisis unfold, when we know there are tangible solutions which can improve people’s lives, and help avoid people reaching crisis point in the first place.
The cost of poor mental health
Preventing poor mental health also makes financial sense. The economic and social costs of poor mental health are estimated to be at least £117.9 billion each year. There are proven ways to help prevent mental health problems or stop them getting worse. And these also save money.
- For every one pound we spend stopping bullying, we save the public purse £7.52
- For every one pound we spend supporting workers’ mental health, we save the public purse £5
- For every one pound we spend supporting parents’ mental health, we save the public purse £15.80
If we’re going to tackle the mental health crisis and end unnecessary suffering, we must pivot from an approach simply treating people with mental health problems, and instead begin to tackle their root causes.
If you think people deserve the right support before they reach crisis point, join our call.
Find out more about our work to prevent poor mental health.
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