A minister for suicide prevention has been appointed in England by the prime minister as the government hosts the first ever global mental health summit.

Theresa May said the appointment of Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price to the new role will help tackle the stigma surrounding suicide.

While suicide rates are falling, 4,500 people take their own lives every year.

The appointment comes as ministers and officials from more than 50 countries assemble in London for the summit.

Wednesday’s meeting – hosted by Health Secretary Matt Hancock and attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – coincides with World Mental Health Day.

The government has also promised more support in schools, bringing in new mental health support teams and offering help in measuring students’ health, including their mental wellbeing.

Ms May said: “We can end the stigma that has forced too many to suffer in silence and prevent the tragedy of suicide taking too many lives.”

Alongside the announcement, the prime minister pledged £1.8m to the Samaritans so the charity can continue providing its free helpline for the next four years.

Manchester University’s Prof Louis Appleby, one of the country’s leading experts on suicide, said having a minister for suicide prevention would “open doors” and make it easier to have conversations about the role such things as benefits and online gambling have in suicidal people’s lives.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the appointment would also help with getting support for mental illness on a par with services for physical health.

“There is a long road to travel to get there. This is not something you solve overnight,” he said.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity Sane, said there had not been enough improvements to services since Mrs May pledged to tackle the issue two years ago.

“While we applaud the intention [of the announcement], it is striking that the UK should be hosting such a summit when we hear daily about people left untreated due to a lack of nurses and doctors,” she said.

“The prime minister must examine our own mental health system before addressing other countries.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45804225

Indeed.

By the Prime Ministers plans to decrease austerity measures, she has acknowledged that austerity has helped no one – financially, socially, physically and emotionally – except perhaps those so well off that they don’t notice the impact on the general public.

The shambles of the Benefits System of PIPS, ESA and Universal Credit and it’s negative effects on so many people’s lives must also be acknowledged here as a factor in suicides – but that is another blog post.

Twitter has this morning responded to Piers Morgan’s post on there suggesting that the term “Mental Health” should be changed to “Mental Strength” and that we teach children resilience in this so as to be able to cope with situations in adult life.  The view of those who disagree  with him is that if this was the case, by nature of the language used, anyone experiencing “poor” or “bad” mental “strength , would be “weak”.

I’m not sure where I stand on this one.

How about you ?