Leading Lawyer Reacts To Prime Minister’s Speech

Medical Negligence experts at national law firm Irwin Mitchell have praised the ‘long overdue’ commitment from Theresa May to overhaul mental health care whilst warning that without an increase in funding many issues will remain unresolved.

In a speech to the Charity Commission, Theresa May has promised to tackle the “hidden injustice” of mental illness and announced extra training for teachers, online self-checking for those with concerns and a review of services for children and teenagers.

An extra £1bn has been provided to the NHS for mental health services but in today’s announcement the Prime Minister did not pledge any additional money to tackle the range of current issues. 

According to research by the government, one in four people has a mental disorder, with the younger generation the most heavily affected.

Mrs May announced a number of new measures including employers and organisations given additional training to support staff who need to take time off and every secondary school being offered mental health first aid training.

Mental health campaigner Lord Stevenson and Paul Farmer, chief executive of the charity Mind, have been appointed to carry out a review on improving support in the workplace.

There will also be a review of the health debt form, under which patients are charged up to £300 by a GP for documentation to prove they have mental health issues.

Ayse Ince, a specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, has been calling for sweeping changes when it comes to mental health care and sees today’s announcement as a positive one which reinforces the challenges ahead.

We can help you to claim compensation for clinical negligence if a serious injury or fatality has occurred as a result of inadequate supervision and care. See our Mental Health Negligence Compensation page for more information.