A KEY mental health campaigner is backing the Evening Mail’s Healthy Young Minds campaign.


Former care minister Norman Lamb MP is the driving force behind many national campaigns to improve waiting times and funding levels for mental health.

He has added his support to the Healthy Young Minds campaign which is calling for the crisis in mental health provision for young people to be recognised and for more investment in services in south Cumbria.

Mr Lamb, who stood for the Liberal Democrat leadership, joins former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, and MPs John Woodcock, Tim Farron and Jamie Reed in calling for political intervention locally to help patients quicker and with dignity.

The North Norfolk MP said: “We know that around three-quarters of mental health problems in adulthood start by the age of 18, so it is vital that children and young people receive the timely and effective support they need to prevent these problems from escalating or emerging in the first place.

“Campaigns such as Healthy Young Minds have a valuable role to play in highlighting this issue and making sure that children and young people are given a fair chance in life.”

Mr Lamb is supporting the campaign’s early intervention call and wants problems to be identified and treated at the earliest stage possible to avoid them manifesting themselves in later life.

Other groups to support the HYM campaign include the National Autistic Society, Kidsafe UK and Sane.

Figures show mental illness causes almost a quarter of illness and disease but only receives 11 per cent of NHS funding.

The Evening Mail is asking our readers to back our efforts to improve services and secure more funding for the teams in south Cumbria.

Visit  www.nwemail.co.uk/hym to sign our petition.