You can read Platfform’s Manifesto for Change, which launched on the 2nd of February 2023, here.
Mental health: overhaul of outdated systems urgently needed
New System Alliance partner, Platfform has launched its Manifesto for Change. From working with over 9000 people experiencing challenges with their mental health each year, the charity states that the current support systems are not working and that our collective mental health is worsening, particularly in these difficult times.
Platfform is calling for an evolution of the way that mental health is understood and treated, stating that the systems in place need to be redesigned to take into account what really contributes to people experiencing difficulties; poverty, adversity, injustice and trauma and take action on what will help to make meaningful change; fair work, good pay, quality housing, good childcare, good education, access to transport, green spaces, inclusion, and opportunities for connection and relationships.
Building on the recent publication of the Senedd Health and Social Care Committee report, Connecting the dots: Tackling Mental Health Inequalities in Wales, Platfform will be sharing their vision for moving Wales forward.
Ewan Hilton, CEO at Platfform said:
“Systems are people, nothing more, nothing less, they are designed by, led by, and in the main, done by people. When we talk about system change we’re talking about behaviour change, because a policy on its own doesn’t change things.”“We have been talking for some time now about how distress and our mental health are rooted in our life circumstances, and not in disease and pathology. In Wales, it feels like this conceptualisation is evolving but it needs a greater focus, more energy and a much more concrete commitment.”
Ewan said:
“The social determinants of mental health need to be at the heart of all public policy, successive programmes of Government and the infrastructure needs to be put in place to make this a reality but we all have a role to play. This is a whole society task; it will take ‘the village’ (a whole system approach) to create the conditions in which we can all thrive. It is about how we act as neighbours, friends, and citizens as much as it is about leadership, workplace culture, our public systems, and our policy and legislation.”
Platfform has developed their Manifesto building on thirty-years of experience working with over 9,000 people every year. They have listened widely to partners across Wales and beyond and are committed to championing a new way of working with mental health.