Why we need to talk about mental health in the workplace.
Pledging to destigmatise mental ill-health in the workplace is admirable, but it comes with problems too.
For many people experiencing mental health difficulties, fear of the stigma associated with conditions can affect how they relate to others. This fear is not just limited to social interactions, it can affect all aspects of life, including the workplace.
At work, the potential reactions of both colleagues and employers may make those struggling with a mental health condition feel unable to be open about their experiences. This is not a small problem, it is claimed that 95 per cent of employees calling in sick with stress give a different reason for needing time off.
There have been some moves to tackle the problem in the UK, however. Mental health discrimination initiative Time to Change has formulated an employer pledge, through which companies can demonstrate their “commitment to change how we think and act about mental health in the workplace, and make sure that employees who are facing these problems feel supported”.
For more information on this story visit The Independent website.
NHS needs £2,000 in tax from every household to stay afloat, report concludes.
Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Health Foundation say health service requires urgent increase in government spending.
Taxes will “almost certainly” have to rise over the coming years simply to prevent the National Health Service and social care system from slipping further into crisis, a major new report concludes.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Health Foundation state that the NHS, which has been suffering the most severe fiscal squeeze since its foundation over the past eight years, now requires an urgent increase in government spending in order to cope with an influx of older and sicker patients.
Funding the projected increases in health spending through the tax system would need taxes to rise by between 1.6 and 2.6% of GDP – the equivalent of between £1,200 and £2,000 per household, the experts said.
The two organisations say that state funding growth rate, which has been just 1.4 per cent a year since 2010, will have to more than double to between 3.3 per cent and 4 per cent over the next 15 years if government pledges, such as bringing down waiting times and increasing the provision of mental health services, are to stand any chance of being delivered.
To read more on this story visit The Independent website.
Bubble Club runs inclusive events that combine fun nights out with teaching hands-on skills in the entertainment industry.
It is the evening of one of the hottest summer days and at a bar in Bethnal Green, east London, excitement is in the air.
Bi-monthly club night Bubble Club has just opened its doors, and the first partygoers are not waiting for the dancefloor to fill up or drinks to flow before busting moves. It’s infectious. Also dancing is an American drummer in a band performing later in the evening. He says earnestly: “This is the first time I’ve seen people dance like this in 10 years!”
Bubble Club describes itself as a “super fun and inclusive club night that is safe and hosts some of London’s most fantastic performers”. It has been running for 13 years, and provides an opportunity for people with a learning disability to enjoy a night out. The club is also inclusive for people with other disabilities, autism, and people without.
To read more visit the Guardian website
Pressure on NHS will continue as social care remains underfunded, campaigners say.Health experts have said the chancellor’s £20.5bn boost for the NHS in England by 2023 will leave the service still struggling to cope with rising demand for treatment.
The pressure on already overloaded A&E and GP services will continue because Philip Hammond only gave an extra £650m to prop up crumbling social care services, it was claimed.
Theresa May has promised the £20.5bn increase in NHS funding over the next five years will yield major improvements in cancer and mental health care. But doubts were raised about how much progress to expect.
“After a financial squeeze of many years, much of this new money will be needed just to get the basics back on track – keeping up with rising need, addressing sliding [treatment] waiting times and fixing the worrying backlog of buildings needing repair,” said Prof John Appleby, the chief economist of the Nuffield Trust, a health thinktank.
More details on this story can be found at The Independent website.
