Labour is working to defeat the scourge of mental illness

No one can deny we have a come a long way in this country towards banishing the myths, misunderstandings, and stigma surrounding mental illness.

- WES STREETING Wes Streeting is secretary of state for health and social care

As a society, we’re more open to telling our stories, talking things through, seeking therapy and, crucially, supporting friends, family or even colleagues to do the same when they feel unable to support themselves.

Combined with changes in our everyday lives, like the amount of time we all now spend on screens and social media, we are seeing a rise in the numbers of people in need of mental health services. The NHS has struggled to keep up. The result is children waiting not weeks or months, but years, for mental health treatment.

In his speech to Labour Party conference 2021, Keir Starmer called it one of the urgent needs of our time. In our manifesto, we committed to recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of the parliament, to meet rising demand.

We have delivered on that promise, and we’ve done so three years early.

That’s 8,500 more therapists, psychiatrists, and mental health nurses now working in our NHS and already making a difference. They’re delivering more care, reaching patients earlier, and caring for them closer to home.