Consultation on the draft mental health strategy 2021-2031

The Department of Health has been carrying out a consultation on a new mental health strategy for the region to cover the years 2021-2031: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/mentalhealthstrategy. MUMO realises the urgency of a comprehensive mental health strategy to promote positive mental health and well being for people living in Northern Ireland and submitted a response.

Globally, it is estimated that less than 7 per cent of overall health budgets is allocated to address mental health. In Northern Ireland, spend on mental health is 27% less than England and 20% less than the Republic of Ireland despite having a much higher incidence of mental health problems, with a 25% higher overall prevalence of mental health problems than England.

MUMO made several recommendations including that every school has a full time counsellor employed by the Department of Education as part of the school’s staff team and that the availability of counselling through GP practices should increase – in line with the #123 campaign which Forthspring signed up to:

  • Ensure that mental health counselling is available to all, regardless of where they live
  • All counselling provision will be quality assured, adequately resources and of sufficient duration to meet individual needs
  • If counselling is the agreed best form of support for a person, they should have to wait no longer than 28 days for a first appointment and no more than two days for an urgent appointment
  • The role of local community-based providers (such as MUMO) in providing timely and accessible counselling will be fully recognised and resourced
  • Delivery options should include face-to-face, telephone and online provision through an adequately resourced, in-house GP counselling service and/or recognised community-based provision

To read MUMO’s response click here:

More News

Moving on from Division

Two MUMO volunteers attended the Transformative Leader Programme in spring 2021. One of the outcomes was that Belfast City Council was able to  fund workshops

MUMO is a ‘ground breaking project’

MUMO had an article in the Belfast Telegraph on 26th October 2022 talking about the Sliding In programme. Springfield Primary School’s children’s support worker Naomi