Dr Sarah Hughes

I realise now that my view on mental health overdiagnosis was divisive. We all need better evidence | Wes Streeting The surge in mental ill health is hugely distressing. That’s why I’ve commissioned a review to find out what’s driving it, says health secretary Wes Streeting

This is a welcome & reflective intervention. 'Overdiagnosis' is a simplistic & stigmatising explanation for what, in reality, is a complex interplay of health, social & economic factors. The focus should be on getting people the right support at the right time www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Streeting orders review into mental health and ADHD diagnosis - BBC News The health secretary said the aim was to tackle a rising demand for services and the increased pressure on the NHS.

Confusion thrives in the gaps. Resistance thrives in the silence.
A government-backed review can close both.

For communities across the UK, that clarity is long overdue. www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....

We already know the answers. What we haven’t had is political will. That’s why I’m supporting this review — not to diagnose again, but to force action at scale.

And it can silence those who still deny the scale of demand or blame individuals instead of environments.

This review can finally end the myth that services simply need to “work smarter.”
It can set out what’s actually required: workforce, prevention, community infrastructure, trauma-informed care.

That gap doesn’t just explain pressure. It explains collapse.

Darzi’s NHS review is clear: mental ill-health represents over 20% of the disease burden, yet mental health receives less than 10% of NHS spend — just 8.1% in 2022/23.

Even the investment we have had doesn’t touch the sides. It isn’t parity. It isn’t proportionate.

We know the reality: huge unmet need. Social conditions like poverty, racism, insecure housing and isolation driving distress. A system underfunded for decades.

A proper review can cut through that noise — if it’s brave and grounded in lived experience.

Mental health has sat in political limbo for years. Everyone agrees it matters… until we talk about funding, accountability, or what real reform requires. Then we get confusion, amnesia, or delay.

So why back a government-led review when the answers are staring us in the face?
Because the problem isn’t the evidence. It’s the denial.

People keep asking: “Why another mental health review?”

Our own major report already shows rising prevalence, deepening distress, and a system stretched to breaking.

Let’s hold onto that — and keep pushing until every child in this country has the security, dignity, and opportunity they deserve.

Good ideas and brave decisions are contagious. This could be the start of a real domino effect — one that shifts our politics toward equity, dignity, and the country we keep telling ourselves we want to be.

Yes, the lack of meaningful mental health commitments in this budget is disappointing. Communities are carrying extraordinary distress with too little support. But today’s decision is still a major and hopeful win for families across the UK.

And let me be clear: I would pay more tax for this every day of the week. Supporting children isn’t a burden. It’s the bare minimum of a civilised society.

For those of us who’ve listened to families worn thin by austerity, this is more than a policy reversal. It’s a moral correction. A moment where leadership finally aligns with conscience.

CPAG estimates that removing the cap could lift around 300,000 children out of poverty and reduce the depth of poverty for another 700,000. That’s fuller fridges, warmer homes, less stress, fewer impossible choices. It’s breathing room — emotional, financial, human.

Around 1.6 million children in the UK — roughly 1 in 9 — live in households affected by the cap. For eight long years, this policy reduced support at the exact moment families needed it most. It didn’t protect public finances; it deepened hardship.

Scrapping the two-child cap is an extraordinary moment of political courage — one that will change the lives of hundreds of thousands of children.

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Chancellor urged not to ‘place further burdens’ on voluntary sector in budget

This week, charity CEOs signed a joint letter to chancellor Rachel Reeves, urging her to ensure her upcoming autumn budget “doesn’t place further burdens on the voluntary sector”

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Today, we launch the annual Big Mental Health Report with a series of worrying findings about the state of the nation’s mental health. www.mind.org.uk/about-us/our...

You know when papers say things like ‘blah blah broke their silence’ all they mean is that they’ve gone to the shops! #FYI

Assisted Dying - A Nations Choice Content note

🕊️ It’s called Assisted Dying: A Nation’s Choice.

It’s about love, loss, morphine pumps, and the quiet moments that change how you see life itself.

If we legislate for death, we must first legislate for dignity.

When 2/3 of our furries are pleased to see me… the other one is too busy guarding my plants! #PetsForYourMentalHealth

Government ‘must go further and faster on hubs for youngsters’ mental health’ A report by mental health charity Mind said many young people are reaching crisis point before they receive any kind of care.

Coverage of @mind.org.uk's new report on youth mental health

Government plans for 50 youth hubs are welcome, but a serious response to the scale of the crisis requires services like this in every local authority, as part of a wider youth mental health strategy www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Suicide rates among young people in England rose 50% in 10 years, figures show Charities accuse government of ‘sliding backwards’ on child mental health after ONS findings

Heartbreaking figures. The causes will, of course, be complex. But a caricatured debate about 'overdiagnosis' is a dangerous distraction when, as @mind.org.uk's @gemmabyrne.bsky.social says here, over half a million under-18s are on mental health waiting lists www.theguardian.com/society/2025...