CREDIT: This story was first seen in The Telegraph
Every secondary school in Britain will be offered training on how to identify and help children who are suffering mental health issues amid rising concerns about cyber-bullying, Theresa May will announce.
The Prime Minister will use a landmark speech to vow to tackle the “completely unacceptable stigma” surrounding mental illness as she vows to end the “hidden injustice” by transforming the way it is dealt with, The Telegraph reports.
She will say that mental illness say that mental illness must be tackled in the classrooms, at work and in communities to prevent it from becoming “entrenched” in society.
Under the government’s plans 1,200 secondary schools, equivalent to one in three, will be offered “mental health first aid training”. The training will help staff to identify children suffering from mental illness and give them support.
In a major speech in London, January Monday 9, Mrs May will say: “What I am announcing are the first steps in our plan to transform the way we deal with mental illness in this country at every stage of a person’s life: not in our hospitals, but in our classrooms, at work and in our communities.
“This starts with ensuring that children and young people get the help and support they need and deserve – because we know that mental illness too often starts in childhood and that when left untreated, can blight lives, and become entrenched.”
Ministers will also unveil plans for £15m worth of investment in dealing with mental health outside the NHS, such as “crisis cafes” and community clinics.
The government will also accelerate a £67m plan for “digital mental health services” so that people can get therapy online instead of waiting weeks for an appointment.
Mrs May will appoint Lord Dennis Stevenson, a long-time campaigner for greater understanding of mental illness, and Paul Farmer, the head of Mind, to work with business to given more support to people.
Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Mrs May said: “”I was talking to somebody earlier today and they were making the point that in the workplace, if you break your arm and you go in with your arm in plaster or in a sling, people will come up and talk to you about it.
“If you have a mental health problem people are more likely to try to avoid you. “We must get over the stigma, we must ensure that we are providing the services for people with mental health.”
