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    Lib Dems warn of 'Prozac nation'

    Posted on 08/02/2008

    Britain is facing a crisis in mental health care, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg will say today in a speech.

    And we have become a 'Prozac nation', he will add, relying on anti-depressants rather than addressing issues in society that contribute to depression.

    Mr Clegg is expected to use his speech to the Guardian Public Services Summit to attack the government's record on mental health care. He will commit the Lib Dems to a maximum 13-week wait for all mental-health related treatments through the NHS, as opposed to the government's current 18-week limit which relates to hospital-based care only.

    'Britain has become the true Prozac nation,' the Guardian expects Mr Clegg to say, 'I believe this trend has gone too far.'

    'Pills must not be a crutch for the wider issues in our society which cause mental health problems.'

    According to BBC News, the Lib Dems requested information from more than 100 NHS trusts on maximum waiting times for non-emergency mental health treatments. Of the 33 that replied, six trusts indicated that the longest waiting time for psychotherapy and counselling was more than two years.

    Paul Farmer, chief executive of the charity Mind, told the BBC: 'Scrimping on basic mental health services is a false economy.'

    'If someone can't get help when they first need it, their health will deteriorate, and they will require more intensive care later on.'



    Category: Healthcare


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