Meeting of the Parliament 06 January 2015
We last debated mental health on 28 October, when we discussed a motion that Linda Fabiani lodged. It is good that we are returning to the subject today in Government time.
I will start by focusing on GAMH, the Glasgow Association for Mental Health, which is a charity that is based in my constituency. As members might know, Glasgow City Council is planning to cut the GAMH budget pretty severely, by 40 per cent or £880,000. Of course, all budgets are under pressure and everyone expects budgets to fall a few per cent each year, but that proposal is much more severe and represents a real shift of resources away from that section of mental health provision. If we are serious about preventative expenditure and trying to tackle problems before they escalate, I am puzzled by the thinking behind those Glasgow cuts.
The Evening Times of 30 December carried the story of Jennie Robertson, who was the victim of sexual abuse as a youngster and who has been through various treatment regimes, including prescribed drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. However, the one thing that helped her most was input from GAMH. I have had some connection with GAMH, including almost exactly a year ago, when it launched a book of writings by folk with mental health issues. The launch, which was in Dennistoun in my constituency, was a really impressive and moving event at which the main speaker was Liz Lochhead, who spoke in a personal way about her experiences.
It strikes me that one thing that people with mental health issues need is time, including time spent being listened to so that someone really understands their problems, time to form friendships and trust people, time to take part in physical activities or hobbies, which can be a real help, and time to reflect on and perhaps write of their experiences. That is exactly the kind of thing that GAMH and, I am sure, other organisations do. Giving people a few pills might be quicker and cheaper, but I am increasingly certain that it is not always the answer.
I raised the question of GAMH with Glasgow City Council, and I have to say that I was somewhat unhappy with a number of points in its reply of 2 December. For example, the council said:
“A citizen’s engagement with Social Work should only ever be, in the main, transitory in nature.”
Surely, as with physical disability or illness, some conditions in the mental health realm are long term. I understand that the decision to cut funding has been called in by committee, and I very much hope that the decision will be reconsidered. If the Government can make any representations to the council on behalf of some very vulnerable folk, that would be much appreciated.
I have a few other points to make in relation to mental health more generally. The first is about the continuing challenge of stigma, which has been mentioned. We had a negative reaction from some folk—admittedly it was a minority—in a community in my constituency when there was a proposal to build a care home for people with mental health issues. We need to continue working to counteract such stigma.
My second point is on the link between poverty and poor mental health. Audit Scotland figures show that GP consultations for depression and anxiety ranged from 28 per 1,000 in the least deprived areas to 62 per 1,000 in more deprived areas. Similarly, the rate of suicide is three times higher in the most deprived areas.
Finally, although we should talk about the shortcomings and the things that we want to be improved, we need to keep things in perspective. During recess, I read a report about Cambodia, where the Government has stated that it will not examine mental health issues because it has to deal with many other issues, such as malaria.