Mental Health problems and drugs to treat these seriously worsen physical health, and motivation. Failing to refer people to exercise within a comfortable environment for them and so leaving them to fester at home can kill. For those people who want to exercise to be able to do so in an environment and with people that they can cope with is a fundamental human right - relating also to the right to life.
So anything that causes the lifetime of those with mental health issues to be shortened is lethal discrimination. This point is highlighted in this Rethink report – Lethal Discrimination – PDF - “people with severe mental illness are at risk of dying up to 20 years before the general population,”
http://www.rethink.org/media/810988/Rethink%20Mental%20Illness%20-%20Lethal%20Discrimination.pdf – September 2013. - “Many health professionals are failing to take people with mental illness seriously when they raise concerns about their physical health.”
“Commissioners and service providers need to be clear about the respective responsibilities of primary and secondary care services for monitoring and managing the physical health of people with mental health problems.”
Had a neighbour with MH problems, should have been in supported housing. 2 suicide attempts and a lot of hassle from his support workers got him suitable housing, I believe he's OK now. Govt must take MH issues into consideration and exclude these people from WCA/Atos farrago. Same should apply to people (like myself) on autistic spectrum.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the support workers helped sort out part of the mess that WCA/ATOS created. WCA could well have cost him his life, and his life will need more rebuilding as a result. I agree that WCA is totally unsuitable for people with mental health issues, autistic spectrum, and also believe it's unsuitable in general.
ReplyDeletemental health treatment is toxic and debilitating not to mention cruel and perpetrated by medical people who should know better but don't.
ReplyDelete