Health Policy
The mental health crisis is the reason for me to get involved with politics, it is a crisis that not just affects young people but everyone in society, there is a lot of despair in society and it is important that government must take steps to address these issues.
Physical as well as mental health is important, ‘your body is a temple’ and I believe that the National Health Service should not just heal the sick and injured but help people to avoid hospital by encouraging and supporting people to live healthy lives.
Gross National Happiness and Mental Health
As part of its Mental Health strategy the government should explore the concept of Gross National Happiness and review how it can be applied to policy areas in order to combat the crises of Identity, Confidence and Despair in society.
As part of this, the government should enlist the ONS (Office for National Statistics) to conduct a number of surveys, in particular to discover the eating habits of the nation.
Data has shown that British five-year-olds are up to 7cm shorter than western peers and there has been a rise in child deaths.
The government should recognise Problematic Smartphone Use as a serious behavioral addiction and take measures to combat this, such as banning mobile phones in schools.
NHS Car Parking Fees
I believe that all NHS car parks should be free.
Going into hospital is stressful enough, patients shouldn’t go to the extra hassle of paying for parking. In some car parks, how to pay and how to open barriers is not so obvious especially for disabled patients.
NHS 121 Child Protection Service
The NHS has a non-urgent medical service, 111, I would suggest to the government to establish a new 121 child protection service, this service will provide online and telephone counselling to children and young people up to the age of 25.
The protection and welfare of children is of the upmost importance and must be at the centre of any government policy.
However many charities are providing services that I feel should be provided by the state as part of the welfare system.
I believe that instead of relying on charities, who in turn rely on donors for financial support, the government should instead be providing these services.
This service should be able to redirect calls to Samaritans and other charities when lines are busy.
Governance Policy
