Embargoed:Saturday 7th April 2001, 00:01hours
Justafter the last election, the Prime Minister clearly
statedthat the Government had three main health priorities
thekey killers in the country Cancer, Heart Disease and
MentalIllness. In a flurry of speeches andheadlines, he said we
wouldcombat these three illnesses to secure a healthier future for us all.
Until then Mental Illness had always been seen as the Cinderella of illnesses. Nobodypaid much attention to it, it was an embarrassment and something not to bespoken about, and as a result it was never invited to the Ball with the moreglamorous and politically motivating Cancer, Heart Disease and HIV/AIDS.
Tony Blair heralded a new future. A future where mental health would not only be given the supportit deserves, but where it would be a topthree priority alongwith Cancer and Heart Disease. Everyonewould know about mental health, its realities and the impact that it has on somany people in this country. TheGovernment were going to shout from the rooftops: it was almost mentalillness, mental illness, mental illness.Well, thats what we were led to believe.
However, today the last day of National Depression Weekand the World Health OrganisationsHealth Day (which thisyear concentrates on Mental Illness), a survey by the charity DepressionAlliance reveals that Mental Illness is still as much a floor-sweepingCinderella as ever before.
Our survey of people affected bydepression (who are more likely to know that Mental Illness is a healthpriority) shows that only a fifth (20%) suggested Mental Illness, compared witha staggering 91% who correctly identified Heart Disease and 89% who chose Cancer.
In fact, more people believed thatHIV/AIDS was one of the three priorities than Mental Illness. Just under a half (49%) named HIV/AIDS as apriority a third (29%) more than those naming the real priority MentalIllness. Furthermore, almost as manypeople (19%) thought that Obesity was one of the priorities as chose MentalIllness.
Antony Tiernan, spokesperson forDepression Alliance said:
The Government has continuouslytold us that combating Mental Illness is a priority and that this is asimportant to them as beating Cancer and Heart Disease. Apart from the damage and devastation itcauses to its victims, Mental Illness claims thousands of lives each year. In fact, suicide is the highest cause ofdeath for people under 35.
The Governments own figures showthat as a result of Mental Illness we lose 80 million working days per year,costing the economy around 3.7 billion per year. Furthermore, Mental Illness costs the NHS and social services another3 billion.
Our results clearly show that theGovernment has failed to liberate Cinderella and make Mental Illness a keypriority. As a charity we continue towork hard to support those with depression.Some might say we do what the Government should be doing. However, only last month we had to makenumerous staff redundant as a funding crisis hit and as the Government rejectedour funding bids. We have been letdown. Cinderella is still sweeping thefloor.