On 16th September, it’ll be 17 years since I last had a cigarette. I was one of those smokers who never really wanted to give up, who really enjoyed a cigarette. However, my consumption was a bit worrying – at least a pack of 20 a day. It was pregnancy which forced my hand. From […]
Jim Hume MSP: Scottish mental health units ‘struggling to cope’
From the Scotsman today: More than 4,000 patients have been sent for mental health treatment outside their health board area in the past five years, according to latest figures. The Scottish Liberal Democrats, who obtained the figures through parliamentary questions, have warned that mental health units across Scotland are struggling to cope with demand. The […]
Lamb and Williams warn on care cap delay
View image | gettyimages.com As Care Minister, Norman Lamb (and his Liberal Democrat predecessor) were pivotal in ensuring that the cap for care costs was introduced. The Conservatives have now delayed its implementation by 4 long years. Norman described this as an “outrageous betrayal of people at their most weak and most frail. He said: […]
Lamb and Williams warn on care cap delay
View image | gettyimages.com As Care Minister, Norman Lamb (and his Liberal Democrat predecessor) were pivotal in ensuring that the cap for care costs was introduced. The Conservatives have now delayed its implementation by 4 long years. Norman described this as an “outrageous betrayal of people at their most weak and most frail. He said: […]
Lamb and Williams warn on care cap delay
View image | gettyimages.com As Care Minister, Norman Lamb (and his Liberal Democrat predecessor) were pivotal in ensuring that the cap for care costs was introduced. The Conservatives have now delayed its implementation by 4 long years. Norman described this as an “outrageous betrayal of people at their most weak and most frail. He said: […]
Opinion: We need to be more aware of neural diversity
It’s obvious that whomever wins the leadership we’re going to have to nurture a lot of new people (as well as the `old hands`. I think it’s important that we do so working with the grain of that individual’s personality to allow it to grow for the benefit of the Party. After all, celebration of […]
Opinion: A life discarded
View image | gettyimages.com Mr K. had arrived on the wing at Brixton Prison on the Friday. By Monday morning he was dead. He had managed to hang himself using a sheet tied around the window bars. No-one knew what time he had died. It would be interesting to know whether the inquest showed […]
Opinion: Ending mental health inequality
I joined the Liberal Democrats partially due to the importance that has constantly been put on mental health issues by the party. I have suffered from extreme depression and have ended up in A&E due to self-harm and suicidal thoughts. A couple of weeks ago I was officially discharged from psychiatry and I’m using my […]
Opinion: We made Mental Health an issue – now we must lead the fight to make it possible
Having worked as a frontline mental health social worker for the past 15 years, there was no-one prouder than I was to see Nick Clegg and Norman Lamb push mental health care (and its place within the NHS) up the political agenda . There is no doubt that without the determination of our gutsy Party, […]
Opinion: Conservative health policies are short on detail
What have the Conservatives said on health so far? Their manifesto makes big promises – but is vague on detail. NHS England’s Five Year Forward View called for £8 billion more annually by 2020 (alongside £22 billion efficiency savings) to maintain NHS standards. Liberal Democrats were the first to sign up to this – and […]