The last time I saw my half-brother Sebastian (on the far-left on the photo below) was when he was five years old and I was a teenager. My Mum was unable to look after him due to her schizophrenia, as she did not get the support needed under the 1980s Tory Government.
The Mental Health Act exists to protect people like my Mum, but the laws need to be updated. I led a debate in Parliament yesterday on updating the Act, which you can watch below.
I wrote a piece in yesterday’s Independent which you can read here.
Reforming the Mental Health Act
When I was a toddler my mum developed schizophrenia and did not get the support needed under the 1980s Tory Government. This had a big impact on me and my family. My mum and thousands of others are still let down by a mental healthcare system, which should exist to protect, support and empower people but too often now relies again on detention, compulsion and discrimination. Today I led a Parliamentary debate on reforming the Mental Health Act and spoke about my personal experience. A clip is below and the full debate is online at https://tinyurl.com/MHAdebate. I also wrote about my family experience in today’s Independent which you can read here: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/mental-health-act-schizophrenia-a9020361.html
Posted by Neil Coyle MP on Thursday, July 25, 2019