Theresa May vows to train teachers to spot mental health problems in children in bid to catch problems early
PM will announce mental health training for all schools today
TEACHERS will be trained to spot mental health problems among young pupils as part of a new vow by Theresa May to stamp out mind illness stigma.
The PM will today announce that every school in the country will undergo mental health first aid training in a bid to catch problems early.
The Tory leader unveils a sweeping package of reforms to help its millions of sufferers, from the classroom to the work place and hospitals.
And she will declare mental health as the first of a series of “burning injustices” her government will tackle.
Deliver her first major speech of the year, Mrs May will commit her Premiership to delivering “wholesale social reform” as part of her new “Shared Society” vision for Britain.
She will say: “We know that mental illness too often starts in childhood and that when left untreated, can blight lives, and become entrenched.
“This is a historic opportunity to right a wrong, and give people deserving of compassion and support the attention and treatment they deserve.”
Vowing to deliver on a Tory election promise to put mental health on the same parity as physical, the PM added yesterday:
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“There is still a huge stigma attached to mental health here in the United Kingdom.
“If you break your arm, people will come up and talk to you about it.
“If you have a mental health problem people are more likely to try to avoid you. We must get over this stigma.”
Mental illness also disproportionately affects younger people and those on lower and middle incomes, with over half of mental health problems starting by the age of 14, she will argue.
One in four Brits suffers from has a mental disorder during their lives, costing the country £105bn a year – almost the same as the entire annual NHS budget.
