Mental Health

[Amw66]

Interesting from Twitter.
It seems a mental health conference did not go down well

Some aspects may sound familiar.

I have not dug very deeply, but it seems UK mental health initiatives are not universally appreciated


deeplys://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/10.12968/bjmh.2018.7.5.198

 

[JaimeS]

The summit was presented as providing a forum for global discussion of the future of mental health policy, provision and research. That is one of the reasons why it was so important for it to be truly inclusive and to access all points of view. The serious concern of service users and their organisations was that it was effectively structured in practice to be the opposite.

The NSUN letter [letter of protest] was signed by more than 100 individuals, as well as organisations from more than 20 countries.... It said there was little or no involvement of user-led organisations in planning the event, in a blatant breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN, 2006). It criticised the attempt to position the UK government as a world leader on mental health when the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had raised such significant concerns about its breaches of disability rights, both in 2017 and in a 2016 inquiry report, which found it guilty of ‘grave and systematic violations' of the convention (UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2016).

We aren't the only ones who've noted how the UK government treats people it chooses to classify as mentally ill.

It warned that mental health survivor and service-user groups in the global south have objected to attempts – led by the UK – to import ‘failed western models of mental health care’ into their countries. It compared the UK government's ‘hypocritical’ attempt to take the lead in creating a ‘global declaration on political leadership in mental health’ with the decision by the UK to host its Global Disability Summit in July, which also saw an ‘intolerant government posing as the upholder of the rights’ of disabled people.

Dude.

Of course, consulting service users is one thing, listening to what they say, is quite another.

*cough*CFSAC*cough*

Overall, this is a stinging indictment.

 

[Snowdrop]

It's not hyperbole to say that the UK stance on a number of health issues is Arrogant to the point of Hubris.

I'm so glad there is push-back on this issue. The article has been tweeted by a great many people many of whom comment further and who tag a great many more.