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RESOLVED:
 
This Council notes that:
 
· 
Across the UK there is
an undeniable Mental Health crisis. In Hackney local mental health
services are struggling to keep up with rising demand for the
services available. The most recent figures point to nearly a
quarter of the borough's population over 16 are suffering from
common mental health disorders.
· 
Inadequate Government
funding for NHS delivered Mental Health services has amounted to
1.6 million people reported on waiting lists in the UK, leaving
local mental health services unable to meet demand. Hackney waiting
times are now 2-4 weeks for NHS Talking Therapies and up to 6 weeks
for the Wellbeing Network, a service for residents with more
complex mental health needs. For some specialist secondary care
services waiting times can be up to a year.
· 
There is an urgent
need to place mental health on an equal parity with that of
physical health.
· 
The lack of parity has
led to care and support being wrongfully and inhumanely applied as
an option, not as a right.
· 
Young people are
amongst those who suffer the most whilst waiting for support.
Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) has reported
across the UK a 109% increase in referrals. Young Minds 2021 survey
reported that:
 
? 10% of young people were turned away from support
? 26% have attempted suicide as a result of having to wait
for  support and
? 58% said their mental health had worsened during
this excruciating wait
 
Hackney's CAMHS referrals increased sharply following the
pandemic from 3,826 across all three local NHS CAMHS services in
2018/9 to 5,502 in 2021/22. In April to June 2018/19 there were 158
young people waiting for an assessment across the three services,
in April to June 2022/23 this number has risen to 356.
 
· 
The Office for
National Statistics in 2022 reported that there were 5,583 suicides
attributable to mental health reasons registered in England and
Wales; of those deaths, 74% where male and 26% female. In 2021 17
Hackney residents took their own lives. Mental ill-health one of
the most common risk factors for suicide.
· 
Suicide remains the
biggest cause of death in men under the age of 50 in the UK.
Females aged 24 years or under have seen the largest increase in
suicide rate since 1981.
· 
A combination of
Government austerity policies over the last ten years and the COVID
pandemic have had a direct impact on individuals and their mental
health and wellbeing and exacerbated the already existing crisis in
mental health care in the UK.
 
Council believes that:
 
· 
Access to Mental
Health services and support is not an option, it’s a Human
Right.
· 
The global call made
by the Human Rights Council for the United Nations and from the
World Health Organisation European Region that identifies mental
health as a basic Human Right will bring definition to services and
ensure parity with physical health in our care system.
 
Council resolves to:
 
1. 
Call on the Elected
Mayor to lobby Government on behalf of the Council for Mental
Health to be recognised as a fundamental Human Right and to call on
Government and the NHS to ensure resources are made available to
support Hackney's local mental health services.
2. 
Working in partnership
with the local NHS, the Council will continue to ensure that
Hackney residents have access and the awareness of existing mental
health services and support.
3. 
Promote the WAMHS
(Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools programme) service
available to every child in a Hackney school that helps meet their
mental health needs for all students, staff and the parent
community.
4. 
Advocate to local
businesses and organisations the adoption and implementation of
mental health promoting policies and training
5. 
Support a Hackney
Mental Health Week, to coincide with World Mental Health Day each
October. Working with partners the day will aim to identify the
impact social inequalities have on the communities' mental health,
promote support providers, ensure suicide prevention programmes are
identified and work with existing local mental health networks and
organisations to further improve outreach, accessibility and the
support available
 
Proposer: Cllr Claudia Turbet-Delof
Seconder: Cllr Chris Kennedy