Teachers need to be trained in early detection of mental health problems | Society



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Theresa May is to announce that all teachers in England and Wales will be trained to detect early signs of mental health problems in children as part of a package of measures to prioritize prevention.

As her prime minister's position enters her last weeks, May wants to save a national legacy from her three years in power at Brexit.

She will visit a South West London school to highlight the importance of early identification of mental health problems and make a series of promises, including the provision of new clbadroom materials and updated statutory guidelines on mental health issues. the responsibilities of the schools.

NHS staff will be encouraged to undergo suicide prevention training, and social workers will receive up-to-date professional advice requiring them to take appropriate training.

"We should never accept an inevitable increase in mental health problems," May say, calling failures in the treatment of mental illness one of the "burning injustices" that she had promised to fight to her arrival at Downing Street.

"It's time to rethink how we approach this problem, which is why I think the next big revolution in mental health should be prevention."

The measures will be funded by a long-term increase in NHS spending announced by the Prime Minister last year: the government had already said that mental health spending would increase faster than the overall health services budget.

May will also commit to reviewing the Mental Health Act, including banning the use of police cells to detain people in mental health crisis.

Sir Simon Wessely, who reviewed the law published last December on behalf of the government, said: "The recommendations of the revision of the mental health legislation that she commissioned were warmly welcomed by all parties but we must now act on it. . Today's announcements are one step closer to achieving this goal. "

However, the Labor Party said the package was well below the significant increase in funding needed for treatment.

Barbara Keeley, Ghost Minister for Mental Health, said: "The Prime Minister is failing to deal with the real crisis. The training of teachers and other professionals is welcome, but when we know that thousands of children and young people are either denied mental health services or have to wait too long for their treatment, it is clear that they are missing the real problem.

"This Conservative government cut funding to local authorities and failed to protect mental health budgets. The workforce will invest more in mental health services and budgets so that funding reaches those who need support, "said Keeley.

Last week, May announced that the government would legislate for a zero net carbon dioxide emission target by 2050, as it sought to tie its successor to a series of modernization policies. She also suggested reinstating student maintenance grants.

But Philip Hammond was keen to avoid signing expensive announcements, as the Treasury prepares for a re-examination of spending by a new prime minister – and almost certainly a new Chancellor – in the fall.

The news comes as the Children's Society reports that as many as 106,000 10- to 17-year-olds with mental health problems per year are denied care because the NHS's specialized services in England find them ill enough to have need. Of the 185,000 aid applicants, only 79,000, the charity claims in a study.

The use of "thresholds" to decide which children in difficulty will benefit from treatment is not wise, as returning youth are more likely to find themselves in crisis, he adds. . Nearly one-third (32%) of parents of children aged 4 to 17 report that their child has been affected by a mental health problem over the past year, revealed the latest year. charity in a survey of 1,004 self-selected parents.

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