Liberal Democrat spokesperson suggests Welsh mental health anti-stigma campaign
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Veronica German has questioned whether it is time for Wales to have its own mental health anti-stigma campaign similar to those in England and Scotland.
Writing in the Western Mail today, German has said that there is still a ‘lack of awareness’ around mental health in Wales.
“We generally know what we need to do if there is something physically wrong with ourselves or our loved ones. It should be the same with mental health, but we just don’t know what to do,” writes German who believes that the country needs to take further steps than the training currently being delivered.
“Perhaps it is time Wales had its own anti-stigma campaign, like Time to Change in England and See Me in Scotland,” suggests German. “Both these campaigns have been working to change the way people think about mental health conditions.
“Through effective media campaigns, working locally and regionally, and holding the media to account over negative press, they have begun to address and change the way people perceive mental health conditions,” continues German.
The piece also quotes Lindsay Foyster, director of Mind Cymru, who agrees with German’s stance, saying that a campaign would make ‘a real difference to one in four’ who will experience ‘mental distress’ at some stage in their lives but warns that a campaign would need to work on local, regional and national levels.
“In today’s economic climate, an anti-stigma campaign is more important than ever and would help focus attention on the health and wellbeing of the population of Wales more widely,” adds Foyster.
German concludes her piece by saying: “Mental health has been described as the last taboo – I want Wales to be a part of changing this, then maybe coming out will be a thing of the past.”