Spending cutbacks always hit those in need

As you know, I don’t get out much but once a week I do venture into our brave new world to meet up with my friend Sidney.

Sidney, which is not his real name, suffers from a mental health issue and I have been “linked” with him for almost a year now through a befriending charity.

He lives independently and although he receives good support from members of his immediate family, he does spend most of the time on his own.

Although it may not seem a big deal, our weekly get-together for a chat and a coffee (and sometimes a slice of cake – but don’t tell SWMBO) seems to brighten his day. Maybe I’m the only other person in the world who likes rock music as much as he does.

Just recently, though, Sidney has been bemoaning the fact that he does not see his community mental health worker as often as he used to.

Sebastian (again, not his real name) would meet up with Sidney at least once a week, to check he’s OK, chat through any issues, make sure he was taking the correct medication and generally just having a bit of one-to-one with someone who is lonely and needs support.

So, why has Sebastian cut back, or been forced to cutback, on his face-to-faces with Sidney?

Maybe the team he is a member of is short-staffed and the remaining mental health workers are stretched, meaning they cannot spend so much time with individuals?

Perhaps the much publicised spending cuts in mental health services could have led to leavers not being replaced.  A new report from the influential King's Fund think tank has warned that cash-strapped mental health services may be putting patients at risk due to “swingeing cuts”.

Or is the team taking advantage of a volunteer who is proactive and who they know will contact them if concerned about anything? Are they using volunteers to do the work of professional mental health workers?

We’ve really got to start getting our priorities right. The NHS, councils etc. need to start prioritising a bit better.

And we all need to bite the bullet and realise that if we want those less fortunate than us to have some sort of decent life we must start paying a bit more in taxes, be it income, council or other.

After all, people like Sidney didn’t ask to be born different.