I have had first-hand experience as a mental health inpatient and inpatient on general medical wards. Unfortunately, I have had instances where I experienced and disclosed issues such as suicide attempts and self-harm which were not fully understood and managed in a general ward as the staff did not have appropriate training in dealing with mental health issues. This experience has brought to my attention the necessity for mental health wards within general hospitals.

In many healthcare systems, there are dedicated wards for specific medical conditions such as cardiology wards for those suffering from heart conditions, maternity wards for expectant mothers, oncology wards for patients with cancer, and so on. What is severely lacking is dedicated mental health wards within general hospitals for those who need physical treatment while simultaneously suffering from mental health problems. There over 100,000 admissions annually across England to general hospitals due to self-harm and suicide; however, this is just the 50% who have been admitted, meaning over 200,000 hospital visits are due to mental health. These people are, and continue to be, misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and inadequately treated due to a general medical workforce which does not have sufficient knowledge about mental health problems. While there are psych-liaison teams within hospitals, this is not enough; they are there to assess and support those in crisis. An individual can wait hours to see the PLT for a short consultation. Those with mental health needs require and deserve more. 

The statistics are continually showing that mental health problems affect a large portion of the population: The WHO state that one in four people worldwide will experience mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives and therefore action must be taken toward the treatment of all patients. A ward comprising of not only medical staff, but also mental health workers can treat the individual without isolating mental health from the physical illness.

With the growing awareness of the connection between mental and physical health, hospitals must cater to these issues and create an environment in which both physical and mental conditions can be simultaneously treated. This can lead to better patient outcomes and more effective recovery rates as well as an increased level of understanding in hospitals.

I plead to the health sectors that they strongly consider creating mental health wards within general hospitals for patients such as myself so that our conditions, both mental and physical, do not go untreated because the general hospital system does not have the appropriate resources and training. Please sign this petition if you agree that mental health must have the same importance in hospitals and no one should suffer with a lack of appropriate medical care simply because it is not understood that they have mental health problems as well as physical ones.