Opposing Labour Wirral Council Cuts and Clinical Commisioner Mental Health Cuts

I was asked as a representative of UNISON Cheshire and Wirral Community Health Branch to make a speech at public meeting held on 22nd January In Leasowe, Wirral. Unfortunetly I was unable to attend the event due to a school board of governors meeting taking place on the same night of which I am a member.

Please find below copy of the prepared Speech I sent to be read out on the night setting out my opposition to hypocritical cuts made by Wirral Council and the danger of Mental Health Services being forgotten by commissioners.

Tara Hewitt

UNISON Cheshire and Wirral Community Health Branch Communication/Disability Officer

UNISON National LGBT Committee Co Convenor Transgender Caucus

Decades of neglect and now cuts Its time to defend Mental Health Services

For decades mental health services have always received a raw deal when it has come to funding in the NHS. We have been at the back of the queue whether thats been in discussions lead by politicians from all parties or from the bureaucratic PCTS and health bodies which have always favoured physical health needs. With the radical changes been made to the NHS and the Mess thats been left while the reorganisation is taking place the voice of those standing up for mental health services has been even less, people often not knowing who is responsible for commissioning care in the region.. With Wirral Council making vicious cuts to local services this includes services that impact on local mental health teams, the services are under threat on two fronts from the out of touch GP commissioners and a local council who would rather pay off fat cat execs than fund front line services to the vulnerable.

The cuts being made by wirral council locally will also lead to higher rates of mental health problems as people struggle to cope in tough economic times and find they dont have the same support and access to services they have had in past. All of this will have a significant impact on the capacity of mental health services on the wirral and it is a damning indictment of the council that despite having responability for public health under the new healthcare model their decisions are effecting the vulnerable the most.

In the Wirral members of our community are still not accessing health services and face barriers and discrimination across the health sector. Although the NHS has made progress in the NW over the last 10 years putting the equality agenda on the table, Wirral and Cheshire has not seen the same level of improvement in access as communities have seen in Liverpool, Manchester and even Lancashire. Black and Minority Ethnic communities are significantly more likely to need access to mental health services due to the stigma and discrimination they face in society but yet they are less likely to be accessing mental health services across the NHS and here in Wirral. Lesbian Gay and Bisexual people have higher rates of self harm, suicide attempts and depression but are 30% less likely to access primary health care and even less likely to be accessing on going mental health services due to services not understanding their needs, perceived or actual discrimination and lack of engagement from across the public sector. Transgender people have suicide rates of 40% and self harm rates of 80% or higher yet time and time again they are let down by NHS services and lack of support through mental health commissioning. With cuts been directed more towards mental health services by commissioners its clear that the knife will fall on projects which are looking to improve health outcomes and engage communities to improve access. If the cuts are allowed to be focused on mental health services we will see a further stagnation in the improvements made in relation to equality and even risk slipping back to darker days of years gone by.

The government needs to be listening to real people, real communities and the professionals dealing with the most vulnerable members of our communities they need to ensure commissioners are not ignoring mental health services, ignoring communities and playing lip service to equality but delivering local services which are PERSONAL which are FAIR and which are DIVERSE.

Cheshire and Wirral Community Health Branch fully supports the campaign to defend Mental health services in Wirral and oppose the viciously targeted Wirral council cuts which punish the vulnerable while handing out free ipads to Councillors and golden hand shakes to fat cat executives.

Thank you.