Charity identifies lost generation of 50,000 mental health service users

Over 50,000 people are lost in the “forgotten
generation” of long-term service users who have been left
behind by mental health reforms, a new report from a leading mental
health charity concludes, writes Natasha
Salari.

The report from Rethink said government reforms that focus on
the young and most acutely ill have “left behind a generation
of people whose condition is medically stable, but who have a very
poor quality of life”.

People who are judged to be “too well” are left
without services, and older family carers are not given proper
support, the report said.

Researchers recommend making annual primary care physical health
checks available to everyone with a severe mental health problem.
Government reform and local service delivery planning must include
people who are medically “stable”, but experiencing a
low quality of life, the report adds.

‘Lost and Found’ from
www.rethink.org