News & Events

Following our last post about how campaigning has led to a fall in the levels of mental health discrimination - we thought we'd showcase how blogging has been part of the project to tackle this social stigma.

Earlier this week we wrote in our Study Shows Fall in Mental Health Discrimination post about how the Time to Change has successfully challenged people's perceptions about mental health issues.

The findings provide the first evidence that it's possible to change the way the people think about mental health problems which are more common than most people think.

A quarter of us are affected by such conditions during our lifetimes and being able to talk about mental health is something which should be important for all of us.

This is why encouraging people to talk about their experiences of mental health forms a central part of the Time to Change strategy to discourage discrimination.

Most people find it difficult to talk about mental health problems - mainly through fear or awkwardness - which is why Time to Change has asked people to blog about their thoughts on mental illness and help spread via social media.

A few small words - whether spoken or written - can make a big difference and you - and all you've got to do is look at the Blogs & Stories section on the Time to Change website to see how this is definitely the case.

The campaign offers tips to encourage people to talk to someone about their mental health problems while its blog section provide an avenue where people can put forward their thoughts in writing.

If you'd like to write a blog post about your experiences of stigma or related issues for the Time to Change Wales website please email info@timetochangewales.org.uk.
 

A new study has shown how campaigning has led to a real reduction in the average levels of discrimination received by people living with mental health issues.

Research by the British Journal of Psychiatry of England's Time to Change anti-stigma programme has revealed an 11.5% reduction in average levels of discrimination.

The findings provide the first evidence that it is possible to change the way the public treat people with mental health problems but that a long term focus is needed to ensure that discrimination is removed from all areas of people’s lives.

There has been a significant reduction in discrimination from friends (14% reduction), family (9%), and in social life (11%) while the campaign target audience has also seen a significant increase in willingness to live with someone with a mental health problem in the future (15%).

This suggests that change is happening within personal relationships, and these are all areas which the programme has specifically targeted.

The evaluation covered the first phase of Time to Change, which ran between 2007 and 2011and was funded by the Big Lottery Fund and Comic Relief. 

For further information please read the Landmark study shows drop in discrimination against people with mental health problems on the Time to Change website.

There are currently 800,000 people in the UK with dementia and there will be over a million people with dementia by 2021.  

Of the estimated 44,598 people currently living with dementia in Wales only 38.5% have received a formal diagnosis compared to 44% in England, 63% in Northern Ireland and 64% in Scotland*.  

Well-informed GPs and healthcare professionals are crucial to both diagnosing dementia and supporting people to live well and a diagnosis of dementia can offer a lot of help including:

• Providing people with an understanding of what is happening to them
• Opening doors to information
• Providing support services and medication which can make a real difference
• Helping people to live well with dementia and allowing time to plan for the future

The Alzheimer’s Society runs a variety of services in your local area and we can send you information on what is available and to talk to you and your staff about the support available for people living with dementia and their families.

The services it provides include dementia cafés, ‘Singing for the Brain’ groups, advocacy and befriending services.

The Society also has a Dementia Support Workers team who can provide home visits offering emotional and practical support and signposting people to other available services.

We've also developed tools in conjunction with the Society to help GPs diagnose and manage dementia including an online training module - developed in partnership with the BMJ - with further information available on our Free Dementia Training page.

The following links also provide resources for both mental health care professionals and newly diagnised dementia sufferers and their carers:

• Alzhemer's Society - Health Professionals Section - Find out more about dementia in your local area, resources for you and your patients, and training opportunities
• Living Well With Dementia After Diagnosis Bilingual Information Pack - Links to a downloadable information pack for people newly diagnosed with dementia with hard copies available at the memory service and provided on diagnosis

If you'd like further information about dementia services across Wales please download the following booklets and use the contact details they contain to get in touch with your local office : 

• Alzheimer’s Society in Wales: Support services and information
• Cymdeithas Alzheimer yng Nghymru: Gwybodaeth a gwasanaethau cymorth

If you have any other questions please contact us via email at lhills@rcgp.org.uk or on 029 2050 4516.

* Tesco, Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Scotland (2012) Mapping the Dementia Gap - study produced by Tesco, Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Scotland