Leicester Mental Health Summit

I was pleased to speak at the Mental Health summit on Friday organised by Jon Ashworth MP.

I have always felt very strongly about mental health and specifically the need for politicians, policy-makers and society in general to talk more about mental health and wellbeing.

I am determined that the new Health and Wellbeing Board in Leicester - which I chair - and the city council makes mental health a key priority. Mental health, wellbeing and emotional resilience will be one of the strategic priorities in the new Health Strategy for the city which will be published in the coming weeks.

In my speech I made clear the Health and Wellbeing Board's commitment to high quality provision for mental health and work to improve mental wellbeing across the city. I also called on all councillors to be champions for mental health.

At any one time around 30,000 people of working age in Leicester will have a mental illness. We have real expertise and innovation across the city's voluntary sector and the challenge is matching this provision with the statutory services to make sure we have broad, co-ordinated and high quality care pathways and provision meeting the needs and aspirations of service users and our communities.

Speaking at the Mental Health Summit
(photo, www.jonashworth.org)

Friday's summit in Leicester, which included participants from the statutory and voluntary sectors, was an important opportunity to discuss mental health provision and what more can be done.

For more coverage of the summit see Jon Ashworth's website.

News article from a visit I made to Network for Change in Leicester when I was cabinet member at the city council for adult social care, with then MP Peter Soulsby.