Thank you to those who got in touch with me about the dismal state of mental health services, and I’m sorry to hear about the challenges constituents are facing in getting the support they need. It’s unacceptable that anyone should feel forced to seek private medical treatment for mental health problems in the UK – if indeed they can even afford to.

I absolutely share your concern about the state of mental health services in this country, particularly for young people. It is utterly shameful that two-fifths of patients waiting for mental health treatment are forced to contact emergency or crisis services before they ever get to the front of the queue, with one in ten ending up in A&E.

That’s why, if we’re elected to government this year, Labour has announced a comprehensive plan for mental health services, designed to fix this national health emergency and ensure that nobody facing mental health difficulties is left for months without support. Our plans include:

• Reforming the Mental Health Act as a priority in our first King’s Speech in government, after the Tories abandoned their manifesto commitment to reform this outdated law.
• Recruiting 8,500 specially trained mental health staff, to drive down waiting lists and ensure that one million additional people can access treatment every year by the end of Labour’s first term in office.
• Putting a full-time mental health professional in every secondary school and a part time professional in every primary school, so that pupils can receive support before problems escalate.
• Putting an open access mental health hub for children and young people in every community, providing early intervention and drop-in services.
• Trialling neighbourhood health centres, bringing together family doctors, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists and mental health specialists under one roof.

I’m proud that Labour, as the party of the NHS, is committed to this transformation of mental health services if we are elected to government at the next general election. In the meantime, please rest assured that I will continue to hold the Tories to account for their utter failure to safeguard our nation’s mental health.