Read: Where you live can affect your mental health

Where you live can have a significant impact on your mental health. Like many other aspects of healthcare, the mental health picture varies across the country. It can also vary within regions. But all too often it means that those who live in the least privileged communities are furthest away from getting the right help and treatment for the poor mental health which can have such a devastating and long-lasting impact on their lives. 

In 2020, for example, estimated rates of mental disorder in children were 20.5% in the West Midlands but just half that in London. The North East continued to have the highest rate of suicide, as it has for five out of the last ten years, with 13.3 deaths per 100,000. This contrasts with the East of England which had 9.5 deaths per 100,000 and London which had 7.0, the lowest rate of any English region. 

It has been shown that a higher use of mental health services is associated with a lower suicide rate. That illustrates how effective mental healthcare is not just about the provision of care, it’s also about the quality of that care, how accessible it is and how likely local communities are to use it. 

Earlier this year, NHS England published its plans to improve patient access to mental health services as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. These include proposals to introduce five new waiting time guarantees, ensuring that patients who require urgent care will be seen by community health crisis teams within 24 hours of referral, with the most urgent cases getting help within four hours. Liaison services for those who end up in A & E departments would also be rolled out to remaining sites across the country. 

Alongside the NHS, employers also have a vital role to play in tackling mental health issues in our communities. In order to attract and retain the best talent, they need to offer effective support in the workplace while also reassuring their workforce that they can use those services without any repercussions for their careers, or fear of stigma. The pandemic has undoubtedly presented more challenges, especially for those in our least privileged communities, but it has also given organisations the chance to improve mental health provision at work, using Levelling Up Goal 8 Good health and wellbeing as a benchmark to close the gaps that prevent people from accessing opportunity. 

I recently joined Robbie Moore, MP for Keighley and Ilkley, on the panel for a Mental Health Summit in Keighley which aimed to encourage an open and frank discussion on levelling up health and wellbeing as well as the challenges of local mental health provision. We were also joined by Jon Skurr, Executive Headteacher at University Academy in Keighley, Patrick Scott, Chief Operating Officer at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust and Nick Smith from the community organisation, Missing Peace Wellbeing and Support. All spoke convincingly about their personal experiences of tackling mental health in the local area - what works well and what more still needs to be done to break down some of the barriers that currently exist for those who are experiencing poor mental health. There were some great examples of best practice but it was also clear that, for some, access to good quality, accessible provision is too difficult. 

Our mental wellbeing can have a profound effect on our lives – on how we view ourselves and our future. It also has a crucial impact on how well we can do our jobs and on how successfully we can take advantage of the opportunities that will make a difference in life. It is a key element of levelling up the country as we recover from the pandemic, with the ambition that no one should suffer from poorer mental health because of where they live.  

Seema Kennedy OBE, Levelling Up Goals Co-Chair; former Minister for Public Health, Home Office Minister, and the Prime Minister's Parliamentary Private Secretary