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andybell-centremh.bsky.social
Works at Centre for Mental Health
17 posts 264 followers 250 following
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Posts 48 Comments 2

Welfare reforms could worsen health and deepen inequality.⚠️ An impact assessment by our member, @healthfoundation.bsky.social, shows that the government's reforms could make things even worse for the health of millions of vulnerable adults. 🧵1/2

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

🗯️ Are ‘mental health A&Es’ really the answer to long waits for urgent care? @andybell-centremh.bsky.social sets out the questions that still need resolving, and calls for an evidence-based approach to crisis care that works for everyone who needs it: tinyurl.com/mryhmxhj

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Love this thread. suffice to say the middle aged and elderly have been wringing their hands about the feckless young for well over 100 years

submitted 5 days ago • 7 comments

"By working together, we can build a system that heals rather than punishes." @mignonrf.bsky.social explains how, by addressing untreated mental health needs among people entering the criminal justice system, Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTRs) can change lives and break cycles of crime 👇

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

RCPsych, joined by leading health and social care organisations, is calling on MPs and the UK Government to reject plans to extend police powers - to detain and restrain people in crisis - to medical practitioners, under reforms of the Mental Health Bill in England and Wales.

submitted 8 days ago • 1 comment

Psychological distress over 30 years in Great Britain: the times they are a changin’ (or are they?) buff.ly/qpu4p0f 🧵 THREAD #MentalHealth #PsychologicalDistress #Surveys #GB #30years

submitted 8 days ago • 1 comment

🗞️ Today we've been speaking about new #MentalHealth crisis centres 👇 While it's clear that people in a mental health crisis need more timely & effective support, it's not so easy to separate out mental & physical health needs - often people in a mental health crisis also need urgent physical care.

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

🗣️ “For most people, the thought of losing their benefits is just too frightening to contemplate” Tracy Willits @yorkstjohn.bsky.social considers the deeply worrying effects of proposed changes to #PIP for people living with severe mental illness: tinyurl.com/tb6w4asj #PersonalIndependencePayment

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

"The benefits system isn’t working. This is an opportunity for the Government to change the system for the better." Tracy Willits shares Pauline's experience of trying to access #PIP, and sets out the worrying implications of proposed changes for people with severe mental illness.

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

📢 “We’ve still got a system which defaults towards physical health. Mental health waiting times continue to be relatively hidden, and that is ultimately what holds us back. Waiting time standards, rightly or wrongly, shape where funding goes" - @andybell-centremh.bsky.social for @newstatesman.com 👇

submitted 10 days ago • 1 comment

Experiencing mental illness and substance use shouldn’t stop you from accessing the care and support you need. But this is too many people’s reality. The @centreformh.bsky.social's new report calls for more integrated, compassionate care for all. www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications...

submitted 13 days ago • 2 comments

Writing about addiction invites judgement and stigma. Yet I hope my blog reminds us that even in the darkest days, there is always hope #LGBTQ+ #mentalhealthequity #recovery @centreformh.bsky.social @durhamimh.bsky.social @andybell-centremh.bsky.social @aldersonday.bsky.social @literarti.bsky.social

submitted 13 days ago • 2 comments

🗣️ "Drugs made me feel connected to the world and to people in ways I had never experienced, easing the sadness I had always known." @davidwoodhead.bsky.social shares his reflections on a decade of sobriety, the impact of substance use, and the support that enabled his recovery: tinyurl.com/5n8erfjr

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

Today at @centreformh.bsky.social we’re sharing our new briefing on the urgent need to improve support for people with both mental health and substance use difficulties. For too long, doors have been closed and people have been let down. It’s time to plan services with people’s real needs in mind.

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

Integrate drug and mental health services. Prioritise compassion over criminalisation, acceptance over stigma. A system rooted in care recognises that addiction is a health issue, not a crime—ensuring people receive support, not punishment. Change begins with humanity. @centreformh.bsky.social

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

📢 Mental ill health and #SubstanceUse are intricately linked. But people struggling on both fronts are too often turned away, unable to access support for one until they've dealt with the other. Our new briefing sets out the barriers that exist, and how they can be overcome: tinyurl.com/yeynkxba

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

Mental Health Awareness Week is a chance to spotlight how commercial forces shape our wellbeing. Find out more in our new briefing on the commercial determinants of mental health, developed with @centreformh.bsky.social @aha-uk.bsky.social @oha-updates.bsky.social 👇 ash.org.uk/health-inequ...

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

The UK Government committed to tackling child poverty, but right now it's at a devastating new high of 4.5 million and set to rise. We’re amplifying the voices of some of these children, their parents and their support workers to MPs who have the power to change this... 🧵

submitted 19 days ago • 2 comments

Delighted to be teaming up with @speechandlanguk.bsky.social today to set out why the mental health needs of children with speech and language challenges needs more attention and priority in both service provision and research

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

Smartphone bans in schools are not associated with better mental wellbeing or reduced screen-time out of school buff.ly/C8Zo4PQ #Smartphones #Screentime #PhoneBans #Schools #YouthMentalHealth 🧵 THREAD

submitted 21 days ago • 1 comment

With rising levels of mental distress, global conflict and climate change, we need communities more than ever. As we kick off #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, @andybell-centremh.bsky.social considers the power of communities to help us thrive, fight injustice and heal wounds: tinyurl.com/43ukupcj #MHAW

submitted 21 days ago • 1 comment

Investing in our mental health is great value for public money. Here’s our latest report identifying six areas where there’s a clear economic case for investment. There are lots more of course, but these six demonstrate clearly how using the best available evidence changes lives and makes sense.

submitted 26 days ago • 0 comments

By investing in what works, the Government can turn the tide on poor mental health. With @nhsconfed.org's Mental Health Network, we've set out six key areas for investment, backed by economic evidence, which would boost the nation’s mental health 👇 tinyurl.com/ypjusv3z #InvestInMentalHealth

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

We know money is tight. But we also know that failing to invest strategically in early intervention and prevention is a false economy that leads to massive costs for both the individuals impacted and wider society. So how do we spend the very limited resources available? 🧵 1/2 🔗 buff.ly/B1OjeQ9

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

⚠️ The nation’s mental health is deteriorating, and the costs of inaction are stark. Mental ill health costs £300 billion every year and causes untold suffering. The upcoming #SpendingReview is an essential opportunity for the Government to invest in mental health – one it cannot afford to miss. 🧵

submitted 26 days ago • 1 comment

New #funding announcement 📢 Grants for young women’s mental health available now! The Pilgrim Trust's fund aims to improve the mental health of young women (16-25) Learn more & check eligibility 👉https://www.thepilgrimtrust.org.uk/young-womens-mental-health-grants/

submitted 26 days ago • 0 comments

🗣️ "I transitioned at a young age. 25 years later, I have a career I love. I’m a married woman. I’m a daughter, sister and friend. But all this has just been shattered." A guest writer shares the devastating impact the recent Supreme Court ruling has had on her as a trans woman: tinyurl.com/yc2ymdaw

submitted 33 days ago • 1 comment

It shouldn’t be necessary to say this but there is no evidence that mental health difficulties or neurodivergence are being ‘over-diagnosed’. Historically the very opposite has been the case. Instead of pointing fingers let’s find positive solutions and create conditions for better mental health

submitted 39 days ago • 0 comments

Hate and its impacts on LGBTQ+ mental health. 🌈 How to combat the negativity and foster wellbeing. My latest blog post #LGBTQ #MentalHealth #Wellbeing @centreformh.bsky.social @literarti.bsky.social @durhamimh.bsky.social @andybell-centremh.bsky.social @aldersonday.bsky.social

submitted 39 days ago • 0 comments

Rainbows in the storm: Navigating hostility and hope in LGBTQ+ lives Following last week's Supreme Court ruling & new data on suicide deaths, @davidwoodhead.bsky.social explores how mental health inequalities are impacting LGBTQ+ people, and how we can tackle these injustices👇 tinyurl.com/mpu2a7px

submitted 39 days ago • 1 comment

Truly shocking and disturbing projections of over a quarter of a million people with common mental health conditions and 26,000 with severe mental illness losing current PIP entitlements under government plans. This is going to cause great harm to many and likely to force some to leave their jobs

submitted 45 days ago • 0 comments

🚨 People are waiting too long for support with their mental health. Over 700 people have told their MP to cut mental health waiting lists, will you help us get to 1000? Join us. Email your MP with our free template today 👉 bit.ly/3Dm1Uba

submitted 47 days ago • 0 comments

Cutting access to benefits will have a profound impact on people's mental health. @andybell-centremh.bsky.social examines the Government's reforms to social security and calls for a change of course to protect the nation's mental health: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/a-broken-saf...

submitted 47 days ago • 0 comments

"History tells us that reducing benefits leads to higher levels of mental ill health. So, it is likely that these measures will exacerbate the very problem they are intended to address", @andybell-centremh.bsky.social writes 👇 www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/a-broken-saf...

submitted 49 days ago • 0 comments

Loneliness significantly impacts our mental and physical health, but too often it remains undiscussed. @lisamcnally.bsky.social calls on local systems to tackle #loneliness as part of a neighbourhood health approach: tinyurl.com/ycke7h33

submitted 53 days ago • 0 comments

We are so pleased to have the support of @centreformh.bsky.social and @andybell-centremh.bsky.social for our #SocialWorkMatters campaign. Mental health social workers provide life-changing support – but the profession is continuously misunderstood, undervalued and overlooked.

submitted 55 days ago • 1 comment

Mental health problems can cast a long shadow over a child's life. But this isn’t inevitable. We’re backing @centreformh.bsky.social's advice to the Government so that every child has the best chance of good mental health: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications... #InvestInChildhood

submitted 56 days ago • 0 comments

The Government must act now to turn around the recent rise in mental health problems among children and young people. By investing in evidence-based, cost-effective prevention strategies, it can ensure every child has the best chance of good mental health: tinyurl.com/4dxsn69k #InvestInChildhood

submitted 56 days ago • 0 comments

📢 Mental health problems can cast a long shadow over a child's life. But this isn’t inevitable. We’re calling on the Government to act now to prevent the next generation of young people being held back by mental health difficulties: tinyurl.com/4dxsn69k #InvestInChildhood

submitted 56 days ago • 0 comments

"Mental health is either attacked as a symptom of the ‘woke’ agenda or acknowledged as relevant to both social wellbeing and the wider economy, without always being followed up by real actions that create change." Read our chair Victor's full blog on changing the mental health paradigm. 🔗 💡

submitted 59 days ago • 1 comment

💡 Only by addressing the social challenges of living with a mental illness can we truly meet people’s needs. Social workers are a vital part of that - but their role is often overlooked, says @andybell-centremh.bsky.social 👇 www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/why-we-need-... #SocialWorkMatters

submitted 59 days ago • 0 comments

Thrilled and excited to be given this opportunity to build our partnership - @centreformh.bsky.social and @durhamimh.bsky.social - as well as explore important research questions. Thanks to @literarti.bsky.social and @andybell-centremh.bsky.social for helping make this happen. Dreams can come true.

submitted 62 days ago • 1 comment

⚠️ New government figures show that 100,000 more children have been pushed below the poverty line this year – bringing the total to a shocking 4.5 million for the first time. The Government must act now to reduce poverty & safeguard the mental health of those most at risk. Our response in full 👇

submitted 67 days ago • 0 comments

Next week the House of Lords is set to debate a Mental Health Bill amendment to create a Mental Health Commissioner for England. Here’s why that’s really important and an opportunity to revolutionise how government works (for the better)

submitted 66 days ago • 0 comments

Today's news threatens children's mental health. ⬇️Spending on mental health services is being cut ⬆️Child poverty has increased This means we are now in a situation where need amongst cyp is rising, and funding for support is being cut. Read our full response⬇️ cypmhc.org.uk/todays-news-...

submitted 67 days ago • 0 comments

📢 We're disappointed to hear that the share of NHS spending dedicated to mental health has declined - and at a time when levels of need have been rising. That the NHS spends >9% of its funding on mental health - when mental ill health accounts for 20% of illness - is in itself deeply unjust. 🧵

submitted 67 days ago • 1 comment

People in rural Britain face specific challenges to their mental health, including isolation, reduced internet connectivity and poorer access to services. 💡 We brought experts together to explore the solutions - @andybell-centremh.bsky.social & Melanie Costas set out what we learnt 👇

submitted 69 days ago • 0 comments

The then Government’s responses to the mental health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic were slow, sporadic and reactive. This and future governments have a chance to learn from that and be better prepared and more effective in national emergencies to come. We urge them to reflect and plan ahead.

submitted 70 days ago • 0 comments