Mental health support must be ‘tailored to needs of rural communities’
This story highlights one of the most important and oft overlooked issues in rural England, it tells us.
New research published by the House of Commons has revealed the scale of the mental health crisis currently impacting rural areas.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) is conducting an inquiry into rural mental health and has published evidence submitted by the Countryside Alliance based on a survey conducted over Christmas.
The survey uncovered a broad spectrum of experiences of mental health and healthcare, and suggested that a key driver of ill-health was a lack of appreciation and respect for the rural way of life, from policymakers to individuals.
Attracting a total of 717 responses and over 1,700 individual comments, the survey was designed to elicit information that would be useful in addressing those questions being considered by EFRA that respondents would be well placed to comment on.
The inquiry is considering questions relating to the specific mental health challenges faced by rural communities, as well as mental health services and how well they meet the needs of rural populations.
The EFRA Committee will also look at suicide rates among agricultural workers and related occupations, and the effectiveness of prevention services.