Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

Debate between Norman Lamb and Robert Flello

Tuesday 3rd March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Norman Lamb]

I agree. It is intolerable. One can only imagine the impact on the family having to travel such long distances. My hon. Friend and I had that discussion in Brecon with the family concerned. It is shocking that that practice continues. It must be a priority.

My hon. Friend the Member for Totnes said that the importance of early intervention is a central theme of the report. There is great scope for much more to be done on public mental health. It was revealed recently that a tiny proportion of public health budgets in localities is spent on public mental health, and yet we know—there is loads of evidence—that, if we invest in public mental health, we can achieve a significant return on it. I welcome the report.

The hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield) talked about what young people had told him. It was great that they were given a voice directly in this place. I welcome his comments.

In a very thoughtful speech, as always, my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (John Pugh) talked about a continuum. Many of us are susceptible to poor mental health in certain circumstances. That makes the point about the importance of schools, which other hon. Members mentioned, in building resilience and keeping youngsters stronger so that they can cope with all the challenges they inevitably face these days.

The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello) talked about Malachi, an organisation he was involved with, and about the triggers that can cause mental ill health among youngsters. Family breakdown is one, but bereavement can have a significant impact, as can bullying at school, which another hon. Member mentioned.

[Robert Flello]

Will the Minister give way?

[Norman Lamb]

I am conscious that I need to get through quite a lot in the time available to me.

I thank my hon. and learned Friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire (Sir Oliver Heald) for his kind comments. He was absolutely right about the potential for online access. The hon. Member for Windsor made a similar point. There is enormous potential. One platform is called Kooth. Good evidence is developing about the impact that online access can have. Given that so many youngsters with poor mental health get no support at all, we can do a lot to increase access, not as a replacement for other services, but as a complement. He, too, talked about the importance of the role of schools.

I worked in Parliament as a junior researcher in 1980, for a Labour MP. I shared an office with the secretary of the hon. Member for Coventry North West (Mr Robinson). He is still here 35 years later. He is clearly the great survivor. He referred to the most appalling wait of 44 weeks in Coventry, which is totally unacceptable. I do not know what is going wrong in that locality, but that is not matched in many other places. There may be particular problems that need to be faced. In a way, that makes the case I have been making throughout my time as Minister that the same access and waiting time standards for physical health should exist for mental health. That is the big discrimination against mental health, and it has existed for a very long time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Norman Lamb and Robert Flello

Tuesday 26th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Norman Lamb]

The Government’s response to the Francis report demonstrated that openness and transparency are critical. As a result of the steps that we have proposed, this will be the most open health system anywhere in the world. That is something we should be very proud of.

[Robert Flello (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)]

I need to press the Minister on this. Does he really expect people to believe that cutting £1.8 billion from local authority care budgets—Stoke-on-Trent has lost a third of its overall funding—will have no impact on the A and E crisis?

[Norman Lamb]

Labour still seems to be in complete denial about the crisis in public finances that we inherited in 2010 owing to failures by the Government whom the hon. Gentleman supported in managing public finances. What we are doing is introducing a £3.8 billion fund to pool health and social care. It amounts to a substantial shift of resources to preventing ill health and it will do exactly what we need to do for social care.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Norman Lamb and Robert Flello

Tuesday 11th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Norman Lamb]

I applaud the work that Mind is doing to demonstrate the stark differences between the treatment of people with mental health problems who are in crisis and that of people with physical health problems. Its work demonstrates that without proper liaison services, people end up in hospital, at increased cost to the NHS. I have asked all the relevant bodies to get together to agree a plan to ensure that there is urgent crisis care for people with mental health problems, like that experienced by people with physical health problems.

[Robert Flello (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)]

I am most concerned that as well as the problems at the crisis level, there is not enough support for people with low-level mental health issues so that they do not get into crisis. Although I welcome what the Minister has said about improvements by 2015, does he not agree that we need stronger and more defined targets to get the progress that is needed towards the mental health services that are required across the country?

[Norman Lamb]

I agree that the more we invest in preventive care, the more we will save problems down the track and stop people’s health deteriorating. Areas that have managed to integrate mental health with primary care have seen good results, with better treatment, quicker access to treatment and less deterioration of health. That is the approach that we need to take.