Lords debates physical and mental health
11 October 2013
Members of the Lords, including an emeritus professor of Psychiatry of Disability and the vice-president of the Alzheimer's Society, debated the implications of the parity of esteem for mental and physical health, as required by the Health and Social Care Act, on Thursday 10 October.
- Watch the debate on Parliament TV
- Read the transcript in Lords Hansard
- Lords Library note: Parity of esteem for physical and mental health
The debate focused on the principle of parity between mental and physical health, with members proposing guidelines for treatment should be implemented for mental as well as physical illness. They highlighted a number of issues with mental health treatment, including waiting times, financial constraints and the amount of people going into training as therapists.
They also discussed attitudes towards people with mental health problems, and how these have changed over time, and also the importance of parity for children and adolescents.