2nd July 2018
The root causes of mental health problems can often be traced to adversity in childhood or adolescence, but the effects can have a life-long impact on well-being and the ability to live a satisfying and productive life throughout adulthood.
iHV welcomes Mental Health Policy Commission: Investing in a Resilient Generation report which sets out the evidence base around the factors that can impact on young people’s mental health.
Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director iHV commented:
“This is a very timely and helpful piece of work emphasising the huge benefits to NHS spending from investing in prevention of mental illness in the very early years, and in schools. We really hope that local authorities will take note of its recommendations and reconsider any more cuts planned to health visitor services. Savings can be made in different ways and this document makes clear that cutting preventative services creates a significant burden of expenditure that must be picked up later by public services.
“It is time to be brave and invest for tomorrow, not today, giving more children a bright future by supporting them as babies and infants when supportive interventions for families have the most powerful impact on their mental wellbeing. The toll of mental illness is now so significant and conspicuous that there is a civil and moral duty for all those with influence to reduce this by supporting investment into early preventative strategies as laid out in the recommendations of this report.”
