Tag Archives: mental health
Mental Health Watch: What’s changed a year since our campaign launched?
Are people with mental health problems in the region getting better treatment than they were this time last year?
That was our hope more than 12 months ago when this newspaper launched a campaign to improve the under-performing mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk.
A crucial aim was to end the stigma of people suffering from mental health problems and raise awareness of the issues.
Our Mental Health Watch campaign has highlighted the struggles of the region’s mental health service, the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT), as well as its progress and successfully campaigned to save a mental health helpline from closure.
But how have things progressed in the past year?
More than 12 million UK adults lack basic digital knowhow, MPs say
An estimated 5.8 million British adults have never used the internet at all.
Britain is facing a “digital skills crisis” with more than 12 million adults lacking basic digital knowhow, MPs have said.
The Commons science and technology committee said systemic problems with digital education and training were costing the economy an estimated £63bn a year in lost income. Only urgent action from government, industry, schools and universities could prevent the skills shortage damaging future productivity and competitiveness, it said.
The art of happiness
A number of high-profile artists have come together to create a restorative environment in a London psychiatric ward.
photo Nick Knight
Hidden away in south-west London is one of the most exclusive art galleries in the UK. Turner Prize winners and renowned fashion photographers are displaying their work for viewers at the Phoenix Unit – a secure psychiatric hospital in Tooting.
It’s home to 18 residents with severe and enduring mental health problems who live there, on average, between one and three years as they recover and regain their independence.
For now, the interior walls are decorated with the same calming, yet chilly, colours throughout, with the quiet room and activity room looking very similar. But the artists are coming.
