A study commissioned by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has highlighted that more than half of adults consider themselves to be ‘lonely’ because they are too busy or shy to socialise with others. Continue reading Make friends through plants at RHS Chelsea Flower Show
The organisers of The MoonWalk Scotland, health charity Walk the Walk, are urging women and men across the country to get walking – to boost their mental health.
Blue Monday is traditionally the third Monday in January and is dubbed the most depressing day of the year. After the excesses of the festive season, money worries, failed New Year’s resolutions and the cold, dark winter weather can take their toll on the mental health of many people.
Whilst walking is recognised as a near perfect way to keep fit and maintain a healthy weight, benefits for our emotional well-being are often overlooked. When we exercise, we release feel-good hormones known as endorphins into our bloodstream.
This natural high helps reduce stress and anxiety, calming and relaxing both the body and mind. Particularly at a time of year when money is tight, walking is one of the most accessible types of exercise around. It costs nothing, and can be done at anytime and anywhere.
Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Executive of Walk the Walk and organiser of The MoonWalk Scotland said: “Walking really is one of the most perfect forms of exercise there is – physically, it tones your body, strengthens your muscles and keeps your heart healthy.
“But it’s crucial for our mental health too. Going out for a daily walk can help reduce tension, stress and anxiety, which is an issue for so many of us, particularly at this time of the year. It sounds perverse, but this can be the best time of the year to get out walking, as the worse the weather is, the better it feels. It’s really empowering – as long as you’ve got the right clothes of course! Walking is a type of exercise which you can build up slowly – no matter your ability and it really is a cure for the January blues. Why not give yourself a goal and sign up for a walking challenge like The MoonWalk. Often having something to aim for can boost motivation and drive you to keep going!”
Lucie Joels has secondary breast cancer and completed The MoonWalk with a group of friends. She says that walking is incredibly important for her mental health: “For me, living with cancer, getting out of the house and walking is grounding. It’s an opportunity to look at the bigger picture.
“I’m in the fifth cycle of my latest round of chemotherapy, but when I am able, just walking the dog, watching the sunrise and seeing the clouds move across the sky is amazing. Yesterday I manage 4,000 steps and I was very happy with that – I feel like I’m winning!
“Being outside I am just a tiny part in a huge world whilst when I’m indoors I’m a big part of my small world and occasionally that can be overwhelming. I strongly believe that there is always something good in every day, no matter how small it seems. Sometimes it would be easy to get stuck in the gloom and have a pity-party, but I try not to stay there long enough to put the bunting up!”
The MoonWalk Scotland is an iconic night-time fundraising event, which sees women and men wearing brightly decorated bras as they walk 10K, 13.1 miles, 26.2 mile or 52.4 miles through the streets of Edinburgh at Midnight.
Walk the Walk makes grants to fund both research into breast cancer and to help improve the lives of those living with cancer now.
The MoonWalk Scotland 2020 takes places on Saturday 6th June.
Sign up at www.walkthewalk.org
In an historic first, all 32 Emirates FA Cup third round fixtures this weekend will be delayed by one minute.
A new film narrated by His Royal Highness, The Duke of Cambridge will be played before the matches, encouraging football fans to ‘Take A Minute’ to start taking action to look after their mental health and that of their family and friends.
Continue reading “Take A Minute”: Late kick offs in FA Cup games
People are being encouraged to protect their mental health this Christmas, with a range of support available for those experiencing depression, low mood, stress or anxiety. Continue reading Health in Mind at Christmas
Plans to develop a free debt advice system have been published by the Scottish Government. Continue reading Scottish Government sets out national vision for debt advice
Latest waiting time figures have reinforced the call by a coalition of leading independent and third sector children and young people’s service providers for dramatically increased investment in mental health services to address the current mental health crisis.
The Scottish Childrens Services Coalition (SCSC) has also called for an urgent need to focus on prevention and early intervention in order to tackle what is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time.
The coalition, which campaigns to improve services for vulnerable children and young people, call comes as the latest waiting time figures from the Information Services Division, part of NHS National Services Scotland, highlight that thousands of children and young people are failing to treated within a Scottish Government waiting time target. 1 With an increasing number of children and young people being identified with mental health problems they also highlight a postcode lottery for mental health treatment across the country.
Covering the quarter July to September 2019, the figures highlight that 3,901 children and young people started treatment at specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in this period. The NHS in Scotland, including 9 of the 14 regional health boards, failed to meet the Scottish Government 18-week waiting time target for children and young people to receive treatment from CAMHS. This target should be delivered for at least 90 per cent of patients.
While 64.5 per cent in the NHS in Scotland are being seen within this 18-week waiting time, still in itself far too long, more than a third (35.5 per cent) are failing to be seen within this period.
Individual health boards failing to meet this target are: NHS Fife (75.2 per cent), NHS Ayrshire & Arran (78.1 per cent), NHS Grampian (50.8 per cent), NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (71.2 per cent), NHS Highland (64.1 per cent), NHS Lanarkshire (51.9 per cent), NHS Lothian (55.9 per cent), NHS Tayside (54.2 per cent) and NHS Forth Valley (63.8 per cent).
The figures also indicate that 204 children and young people in the July to September quarter had been waiting for more than a year prior to being seen for treatment, an increase from 151 in the previous quarter (April to June) and more than double that from the same quarter of last year (93). 2
In addition, more than one in five (21.9 per cent) are having their referrals for treatment rejected, with no real understanding of what is happening to them after this.3
It should be noted that a mere 0.56 per cent of the NHS budget is spent on specialist CAMHS, amounting to £67.248 million.4 In addition to this, only 6.61 per cent of the overall mental health budget is spent on CAMHS.
These very low figures are despite the fact that mental health services are creaking at the seams due to greatly increasing demand, as evidenced by these waiting time figures. Research indicates that 10 per cent of children and young people (aged five to 16) has a clinically diagnosable mental health problem (around three in every classroom), with 50 per cent of mental health problems established by the age of 14 and 75 per cent by the age of 24.5
While acknowledging the great efforts the Scottish Government is making, such as an additional £250 million of funding announced in the Programme for Government of 2018, the SCSC has called for the Scottish Government to greatly increased investment in CAMHS and for a more consistent approach to delivering these services across Scotland. 6
It has also called for a renewed focus on prevention and early intervention for those with mental health problem, reducing the need for referral to under-pressure specialist CAMHS.
This includes embedding mental health within education from an early age in order to strengthen knowledge and awareness of mental health, as well as reducing the stigma associated with mental health. Emotion and resilience classes should be provided to all students from primary one to teach students how to work through their emotions in a healthy way and there should be a whole-school approach, with training for all staff involved in education and providing counselling support.
A spokesperson for the SCSC said: “These latest waiting time figures highlight that fact in this mental health crisis we are continuing to fail thousands of children and young people with mental health problems, with more clearly needing to be done to address this epidemic.
“These newly released figures highlight that the NHS in Scotland, including nine of our health boards, are failing to meet what is already a lengthy waiting time. Yet we know that three children in every classroom has a clinically diagnosable mental health problem.
“There must be a radical transformation of our mental health services, with a focus on preventing such problems arising in the first place and intervening early, especially when we know that half of all mental health problems begin before the age of 14. This includes embedding mental health within education from an early age as well as providing training for all staff involved in education.
“With mental health and the issues associated with it representing one of the greatest public health challenges of our time, we must ensure that children and young people are able to get the care and support they need, when they need it. This includes investing in greater community support and support at school, reducing the need for referral to specialist CAMHS.”
Scottish Conservative Health Spokesperson, Miles Briggs, didn’t miss the opportunity to comment. The Lothian MSP said: “In Scotland we are facing a child mental health crisis and over 10,000 children and young people are being failed by this SNP government.
“There is a postcode lottery across health boards for whether you child will get mental health support when they need it, with my own region of Lothian being particularly bad.
“I am regularly contacted by parents who are worried about their children and it is heart-breaking for them when they are told their child can’t be seen for over a year.
“A greater focus must be given to prevention and early intervention by having mental health on the curriculum for all schools in Scotland.”
1 NHS Information Services Division, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Waiting Times in Scotland (PDF link), 3rd December 2019, Table 2, p. 7. Available at: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Mental-Health/Publications/2019-12-03/2019-12-03-CAMHS-WaitingTimes-Report.pdf? (accessed 3rrd December 2019).
2 Ibid., Table 1a in background tables, p.6.
3 Ibid., Table 4 in background tables, p.6.
5 Mental Health Foundation, Mental Health Statistics: Children and Young People. Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/statistics/mental-health-statistics-children-and-young-people (accessed 25th January 2016).
6 BBC online, Sturgeon announces boost for mental health services, 4th September. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-45395739 (accessed 5th December).
Organisations across Edinburgh have joined forces to start an ‘open and honest conversation’ about the future of citizens’ mental health.
Inspired by similar initiatives across the globe and building on the early findings of the Capital’s 2050 City Vision, Thrive Edinburgh launched with a citywide conference last week at the National Museum of Scotland. Continue reading Thrive Edinburgh to explore mental health matters across the capital
Redhall Walled Garden is holding it’s annual community Winter open day on Saturday 7th December (12 – 3pm).
We will be offering :-
Professional counselling services will be available to all secondary school pupils who require it by September next year.
Agreement has been reached between the Scottish Government and COSLA on the detailed allocation of £60 million over four years. This funding will build or expand high quality counselling services for children and young people.
Counselling services currently delivered by qualified and registered counsellors through Pupil Equity or Scottish Attainment funding will continue, enabling local authorities to reallocate those funds to other priorities to help close the attainment gap.
School counsellors help support young people’s emotional, behavioural and mental health. Importantly, pupils will also have access to counsellors during school holidays, providing vital continuity of care.
Mental Health Minister Clare Haughey said: “Children and young people can face many issues growing up and must have the right support available at the right time.
“Providing every secondary school with access to at least one counsellor by next year is a significant step forward in our package of measures to improve the mental health support available for children and young people.”
Commenting on the announcement, a spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition said: “This is very welcome news and is a vital step in improving the mental health of our children and young people through early intervention.
“School counsellors help support young people’s emotional, behavioural and mental health. Importantly, pupils will also have access to counsellors during school holidays, providing vital continuity of care.
“It has been estimated that the cost of five sessions of counselling is equivalent to just one contact with child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).
“Therefore, investing a fraction of the mental health budget on school-based counselling services helps to keep the individual in school and avoid an unneccesary and often stigmatising mental health diagnoses, as well as reducing the burden on stretched and costly CAMHS provision.”
MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee are calling for better mental health support for young people ordered into either secure care or a young offenders’ institution (YOI).
The Committee is calling for assessments of a young person’s needs to be made within the first days of their incarceration, and consistent, high-quality physical, educational and mental health support to be provided thereafter. Continue reading MSPs call for improved mental health provision in secure care and young offenders’ facilities
