The still, dark days of January are often associated with heightened levels of depression. Actually, depression is omnipresent. The charity Mind details depression as ranging from mild to moderate to severe. They list some types of depression: Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)– depression that usually (but not always) occurs in the winter. Dysthymia– continuous mild depression […]
Op-eds
Sick absence figures reveal extent of strains on NHS staff as 45 million hours lost in Scotland alone
Last year, my husband spent 51 days in hospital. He received excellent care from compassionate and skilled staff at what was an absolutely terrifying time for us. That experience gave us an insight into the strains and stresses that the NHS faces. The most common refrain from staff was that it was so stressful and […]
Willie Rennie’s Christmas Message: Scottish Lib Dems stand up for better mental health, education and police services
Embed from Getty Images Here is Willie Rennie’s Christmas Message: May I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. 2017 was the year the Liberal Democrats turned the corner. We started winning elections again with more MPs and in charge of more councils. I believe that winning is not just good for the Liberal Democrats but is […]
How the Samaritans helped me and how they can help you
In the last two years, I have been helped twice by the Samaritans. The first time was when I had a number of personal, family and work issues piling up. I felt as though everything was getting on top of me, and that if I wasn’t careful, I would end up feeling worse. As usual […]
Improving Mental Health Services For Our Young People
On Monday 30th October I asked the Government what action they were taking to ensure that children and young people could access mental health services in a timely way. I have been campaigning to improve CAMHS and this was my latest attempt to put the Government on the spot. The best that Lord O’Shaughnessy, the […]
Notes from a new councillor: How to change things
I am frustrated about the bureaucracy I recently encountered as a County Councillor. Oxfordshire Mind, which provides many valuable mental health services throughout the county, has a new initiative to promote mental health awareness throughout Oxfordshire. The question I submitted to the Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Public Health was: Oxfordshire Mind is seeking […]
Notes from a new councillor: How to change things
I am frustrated about the bureaucracy I recently encountered as a County Councillor. Oxfordshire Mind, which provides many valuable mental health services throughout the county, has a new initiative to promote mental health awareness throughout Oxfordshire. The question I submitted to the Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Public Health was: Oxfordshire Mind is seeking […]
An independent commission is the only cure for the NHS funding crisis
Embed from Getty Images When I stood as a Conservative parliamentary candidate in 2015, I remember preparing notes on every conceivable subject for my first hustings. But when it came to the NHS, I couldn’t bring myself to follow the party political line and just bash my opponents; no one has fixed it and no […]
An independent commission is the only cure for the NHS funding crisis
Embed from Getty Images When I stood as a Conservative parliamentary candidate in 2015, I remember preparing notes on every conceivable subject for my first hustings. But when it came to the NHS, I couldn’t bring myself to follow the party political line and just bash my opponents; no one has fixed it and no […]
Mental Health deaths must not be neglected
This October, I will have been associated with the Liberals and the Liberal Democrats for some 45 years. In 1972 I joined the Liberal Students at Manchester University Medical School where my best subjects were Psychology and Psychiatry so it is unsurprising, perhaps, that I have not only pursued the interests of the NHS as […]