Labour MP candidate criticises government record on mental health

Councillor Stephen Morgan, Labour candidate for Portsmouth South said the government’s record on tackling mental health was ‘one of failure.’

He said: ‘The Tories might talk about equality between mental and physical health, but their rhetoric has not become reality.

‘The truth is that funding for mental health fell by over 8 per cent over the last parliament. There are now 6,600 fewer mental health nurses compared to 2010 and thousands of patients in crisis have to travel out of area for a psychiatric bed.’

Research by the National Centre for Social Research and Leicester University found that 17 per cent of people had a common mental disorder and that 37 per cent of those people receive treatment.

Cllr Morgan added: ‘The government has failed to provide sufficient funding for mental health services and people are being let down as a result.’