Pre May 5th phone call with Michael Matheson (Falkirk SNP)

I spoke to Michael Matheson on the phone for about 45 minutes on my lunch break before the election (he has since been re-elected for falkirk so i plan on holding him to his word) He seemed to fully agree with the point I was making that there isnt enough accessible help for people who can't be signed off and therefore have to continue to work while desperately needing help. He said (similar to Shona Robinson) that they aim to have a 10 year plan as the normal 3 year plans tend to mean that things get missed out or rushed to meet the deadline and that the 10 year plan would enable them to look into the facilities for mental health in greater depth. He also said that the constituencies (he was speaking on behalf of Falkirk) would like to look into making the counselling etc a 7 day service rather than just Monday to Friday 9-5. The counselors and people who work in these places (for example FDAMH Falkirk Mental Health Association) would work maybe Tuesday to Saturday or Start later in the morning and work on in the evening. I believe this would be very beneficial to those who need help but can't get it at the moment due to restricted time availability. He also suggested (and stated that he would be happy to work with me on it) that once Parliament is in back in after the election (which they now are) that i create a petition on the Scottish Parliament Website which they would then be obliged to look at and discuss so I fully intend to do this. I will not give up, too many people need help and are just ignored/forgotten about, we need to make ourselves heard.