Danny Chambers Portrait Dr Chambers
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That is a prescient point. At the moment, there is no responsibility to ensure that children in particular, and other carers too, are identified. Even if they are put in advance choice documents, if the person making those decisions does not identify them, that will not come about. We would have to be careful that there is not unnecessary duplication; however, the initiative the hon. Gentleman puts forward is not a belt-and-braces approach to identifying young carers and other carers who are struggling.

New clause 7 seeks to end the detention of children on adult wards, requiring the number to be reduced to zero within five years—other Members have discussed that today—and the Secretary of State to set out how that will be achieved. It simply cannot be right that children are still being treated on adult wards. It is unacceptable and can seriously hinder recovery and effective care.

Although the Bill rightly focuses on hospital-based treatment, the process has also laid bare how fragile our wider mental health services have become, with the lack of early support in primary and community care and the shortage of initiatives that help people long before they reach crisis point. That is why new clause 14 would place a duty on integrated care boards to ensure that community services have the resources they need to meet the demand and report on that regularly. Keeping people well in their communities must be at the heart of any modern mental health strategy, because if we get the community care right, we prevent crises, reduce pressure on hospitals and help people live healthier, more independent lives.

Finally, new clause 22 would establish a veterans’ mental health oversight officer. That dedicated role would ensure that those who have served our country receive the understanding and tailored care they deserve when they come into contact with mental health services. Too often, veterans experience mental ill health, sometimes linked to their service, and they find themselves in systems that do not fully recognise their unique experiences. The proposal would help change that by providing proper oversight; encouraging joined-up working across the NHS, veterans’ services and the third sector; and ensuring that compassion and accountability sit at the heart of how the Mental Health Act is applied to veterans.

Taken together, the proposals are about making our mental health system even more humane, more joined up, and more focused on prevention and recovery. I hope the Government will take them in the spirit in which they are intended, which is to strengthen this important Bill, which we very much support, and deliver a system that truly supports those who need it most.

Abtisam Mohamed Portrait Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)
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I will speak on new clause 35, which sets out the conditions under which community treatment orders can be extended beyond 12 months. Like many across my constituency of Sheffield Central, I know personally how overstretched our mental health services are. My brother lives with complex mental health needs and our family has seen at first hand the impact of a churning workforce, long waiting lists and a lack of community support services, brought about by an unrelenting crisis in funding.

Our system has not been properly expanded or adapted to meet the challenges. Instead, far too many people are detained and restricted, rather than supported to recover. We see this nowhere more acutely than in the overuse of community treatment orders, which were supposed to be a bridge from hospital to home for those who are constantly readmitted to hospital. People have described them as

“a tag that nobody can see, but you know it’s around your mind.”

The evidence shows that they have not met their intended purposes, with three major studies having found no reduction in readmissions or hospital time through their use. Yet despite the previous Government having promised reform, community treatment orders have continued. Reform has been too slow and too narrow in scope.

Oral Answers to Questions

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts
Tuesday 19th November 2024

(11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Karin Smyth Portrait Karin Smyth
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My hon. Friend lays bare an important issue. We all know, and critically, staff know, that we are asking them to do the most incredible job with outdated technology. It is bad for staff and it is bad for patients. That is why moving from an analogue to a digital system is crucial. I was fortunate to visit colleagues at NHS England offices up in Leeds last week to see some of the fantastic work they are doing on the app. We will ensure that the NHS comes into the 21st century.

Abtisam Mohamed Portrait Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)
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3. What steps he is taking to improve mental health support services.

Andrew Gwynne Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Andrew Gwynne)
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Lord Darzi found that mental health waiting lists have surged, with more than 100,000 children waiting a year for their first appointment. That is why we will recruit 8,500 more mental health workers, provide access to mental health support in every school and roll out young futures hubs in every community. I am delighted to tell my hon. Friend that a Bill to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983 was introduced in the other place on 6 November. That was a promise that we made before the election—a promise that we kept.

Abtisam Mohamed Portrait Abtisam Mohamed
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I welcome the Minister’s comments. My brother has very complex mental health needs. We as a family know at first hand the difficulties not only of accessing the services and of the long waiting times, but the challenge of support staff who are not constantly on a churn and the lack of community-funded support services. Our experience is no different to that of many other families. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we will make mental health services more accessible in communities, invest more in preventive services and fund more community-based provision?

Andrew Gwynne Portrait Andrew Gwynne
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I will be pleased to meet my hon. Friend. This Government think it is unacceptable that too many people are not receiving the care that they deserve, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. We are determined to change that with the measures I set out in my opening. The Government have also introduced NHS 111 for mental health so that people who are in crisis or are concerned about a family member or loved one can now call 111 and speak to a trained mental health professional.

Oral Answers to Questions

Abtisam Mohamed Excerpts
Tuesday 15th October 2024

(1 year ago)

Commons Chamber
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Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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I am sure that the right hon. Lady does want more Conservative MPs in Essex. She has raised an entirely constructive point, which I strongly welcome. This Government are committed, as we were in opposition, to doubling the number of medical school places, and that means real opportunities for local medical schools such as hers. As ever, I would of course be delighted to meet her to talk about what more can do with her local university.

Abtisam Mohamed Portrait Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)
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The news that we are recruiting more GPs is very welcome. I spent an afternoon shadowing a local GP and saw just how stretched the services were. Will the Secretary of State give a commitment that we are moving towards investment in primary care services and moving from a national health service to a focus on neighbourhood health services?

Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that question. When in opposition, I was delighted to spend time with a whole group of GPs from across Sheffield who showed us what primary care reform could look like. We are committed to increasing primary care as a proportion of the NHS’s budget, which will be important, and also to building exactly the kind of neighbourhood health service she describes, with more care closer to people’s homes. General practice has a key role to play in that.