New longterm mental health and wellbeing plan for England
On 12 April the Westminster Government published a consultation on its new Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan for England. The ‘call for evidence’ is designed to inform a new 10-year mental health plan to prevent mental ill-health, improve mental health support across the country and put mental and physical health on an equal footing.
The public, those with lived experience of mental ill-health, and health and care professionals have until 7 July to share their views.
Kidney Research UK will be responding to the consultation, and we encourage patients and families to share their views too. The more kidney-related responses which are submitted, the louder the kidney voice will be.
The consultation is asking the following questions:
- How can we all promote positive mental wellbeing?
- How can we all prevent the onset of mental ill-health?
- How can we all intervene earlier when people need support with their mental health?
- How can we improve the quality and effectiveness of treatment for mental health conditions?
- How can we all support people living with mental health conditions to live well?
- How can we all improve support for people in crisis?
The consultation paper contains a chapter on each of these topics and asks a series of questions for each. You can answer as many questions as you like – you don’t have to answer them all.
Kidney Research UK mental health survey 2022
Earlier this year, we ran a survey on mental health and over 1,000 kidney patients responded. The survey found that:
It was extremely concerning to see the high levels of mental ill-health amongst kidney patients, yet access to support is low. This consultation gives the kidney community the opportunity to make the case to Government that this needs to change.
Considerations for your response:
- How your/your family member’s/friend’s mental health has been affected by kidney disease
- What (if any) support you/they have received and if it was helpful
- Whether you think the impact of long-term conditions, such as kidney disease, on mental health is given sufficient priority within the consultation paper – there is a short section on it in Annex A
- The importance of preventing mental ill-health in kidney patients. Early access to mental health support shortly after diagnosis could help maintain mental wellbeing and prevent the development of mental health conditions
- The importance of kidney patients having access to specialist mental health support (for example a renal counsellor) so they can talk to someone who understands kidney disease
- The importance of maintaining good mental health in order to maintain good physical health. Adhering to treatments for kidney disease (for example dialysis) takes time and persistence. If someone is experiencing mental ill-health it is more difficult to adhere to burdensome treatment regimes and in turn the person’s physical health can deteriorate
Information on the consultation, including the full consultation document, a ‘quick read’ summary version and an ‘easy read’ version can be found here. On this page there is also a link to the online survey for responding.
Online information sessions
We’re running some information sessions for people affected by kidney disease who are interested in finding out more about the consultation. Sign up for an information session.
Read more about people living with kidney disease
