Mental Health Services: Men
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to local authorities seeking to develop preventative men’s mental health programmes.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Through neighbourhood health approaches, we are supporting more preventative, community-based models of care which bring together the National Health Service, public health, and local authority services, alongside voluntary and community provision, including social prescribing and wider support that addresses risk factors for poor mental health.
This is complemented by national action to support preventative mental health programmes, including delivery of the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, targeting groups at higher risk, such as middle-aged men, and the Men’s Health Strategy, which includes initiatives to improve mental health literacy and engage men in accessible community settings
The Men’s Health Strategy highlights that improving men’s health will depend on how national priorities are translated into local delivery. For councils, this could include, but is not limited to, providing services at times and settings that reflect men’s working and family lives, adapting communication styles to engage and retain men, and ensuring staff are equipped to identify and address men’s diverse health needs.
The Men’s Health Strategy seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England, including by tackling men’s mental health. The landmark partnership with the Premier League brings together football clubs and the Government to improve health literacy, particularly around mental health and suicide prevention.
The Men’s Health Strategy also announced the neighbourhood-based Suicide Prevention Pathfinders Programme for middle-aged men. Through an investment of up to £3.6 million over three years, this programme will seek to improve the support available for middle-aged men in specific areas where they are at greatest risk of taking their own lives.
In addition, departmental regional teams work with and support local authorities across a wide range of portfolios that support action on health inequalities including mental wellbeing, children's services, smoking cessation, drug and alcohol services, physical activity and obesity, work and health, wider determinants of health, and health literacy.
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