World Mental Health Day on the 10th October in the UK
#WorldMentalHealthDay
Today marks World Mental Health Day, an annual campaign run by the World Health Organisation (WHO), to raise awareness about mental health issues.
The theme this year is to make mental health and wellbeing a global priority, whilst providing an opportunity for those working in the field to showcase their work and progress, and to be vocal about what more needs to be done.
Mental Health First Aid England* reported that 1 in 4 people experience mental health issues each year. 792 million people are affected worldwide by mental health issues and 1 in 6 working age adults have symptoms associated with mental illness. NHS Digital published their Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics*, highlighting that 1.61 million people in the UK were in contact with mental health services. The majority of these 1,065,029 were in contact with adult services
This campaign is proudly supported by Pluss, part of Seetec, one of the UK’s leading employment and health specialists, offering a range of services to assist people back into employment. Pluss has a Social Prescribing service within Cornwall, which offers to support and help participants connect to local community services and networks to help them have more control over their health and wellbeing.
The Pluss Health and Wellbeing Coaches currently cover two Primary Care Network (PCN) areas in Cornwall and deliver the service to residents of the following GP practices in East Cornwall: Penntorr Health Centre, Port View Surgery & Saltash Health Centre. For Falmouth and Penryn Primary Care Network: Falmouth Health Centre, Pernyn Surgery, Trescobeas Surgery, Falmouth and Westover surgery.
There are several factors that can affect an individuals’ health and wellbeing such as isolation, loneliness, work, housing and money. The team of Health and Wellbeing Coaches can help you find and access services and groups within your local community, develop goals to improve your health and wellbeing and connect participants to others within their chosen communities.
A participant suffered from a health condition which meant they experienced extreme fatigue and were really struggling with life. They were given the option to take medication that could help, but these all came with their own health warnings. They were referred to Social Prescribing as an alternative.
The service offered a different and new perspective for the participant. They were offered a range of options and worked collaboratively with their wellbeing coach to figure out the best course of action. With the help of their health and wellbeing coach they are in a much better place and managing without medication.
The health and wellbeing coaches that are part of social prescribing help participants with finance, housing or benefits assistance, art and creative activities, exercise and dance classes, learning, training, employment or volunteering and much more.
Natalie Brown, Cornwall Social Prescribing Health and Wellbeing Team Leader, said:
“The service, provided by the team here is fundamental and helps give support to those who are suffering from poor mental health.
“It provides an alternative to traditional methods of medication and allows more specialised help to be given without restraint. People feel more in control of their health and wellbeing and are provided with many different services within their local community.”
*To find out more information on Mental Health First Aid England Mental Health statistics visit: https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/research-and-evaluation/mental-health-statistics/
*To find out more information on NHS Digital Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics visit: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-services-monthly-statistics/performance-june-provisional-july-2022
To find out more about Pluss Social Prescribing Service, visit: https://pluss.org.uk/work/services/social-prescribing-services/