‘Join the Campaign promoting Mental Health Equality for All’

More people than ever before are aware of the importance of their mental health, thanks to the successful awareness campaigns from ‘Time to Change’, ‘Heads Together’, ‘Mental Health First Aid’ and other organisations across the UK.

Yet, discrimination and unfair treatment of people with mental ill-health disabilities remains widespread, due to millions being unaware of section 20 and 21 of the Equality Act 2010, which places an ‘Anticipatory Duty’ to make ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ on Service providers (such as Banks, local Authorities, Schools and other parties) to assist people with Mental ill-Health Disability.

We invite you, your family and friends to join the ‘Together, we can’ movement to request the Prime Minister Theresa May, Penny Mourdant MP (Minister for Equalities) and all Government departments along with Public and Private Sector organisations to prevent the equality rights of people with mental ill-health disabilities from being breached; whilst making sure they are offered support required via the ‘Anticipatory Duty’ to make ‘Reasonable Adjustments’.

The Equality Act 2010 states a mental ill-health (or mental illness) is considered a disability, if it has a long-term medical diagnosis and affects their normal day-to-day activity; the condition is ‘long term’ if it lasts or is likely to last, 12 months. ‘Normal day-to-day activity’ is defined as something you do regularly in a normal day and includes working set times, interacting with people or services plus numerous other activities.

Currently, the ‘Anticipatory Duty’ to make ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ is in place providing widespread support including braille to the blind, sign language to the deaf and a variety of means to assist people with physical disabilities. However, there is a significant lack of ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ made for people with mental ill-health disability outside the medical sector; resulting in discrimination, unfair treatment and placing people with mental ill-health disabilities at risk of crisis, self-harm or suicide.

Section 20 and 21 of the Equality Act 2010 places an ‘Anticipatory Duty’ to make ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ on all Service providers (such as Banks, local Authorities, Utilities, Schools, etc.) to make sure that if you are a mental ill-health or physically disabled person, the Service provider offers you as close as it is reasonably possible the standard usually offered to non-disabled people and not place you in a disadvantaged situation.

‘Together, we can’ end the distress caused by Service Providers and other parties failing their ‘Anticipatory Duty’ to make ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ resulting in discrimination and stigma, suffered by people with Mental ill-Health disability.

We thank Health and Safety Executive, Equality and Human Rights Commission, DWP, HM Treasury, Financial Conduct Authority, Financial Ombudsman Service, NHS England, Public Health England plus legal parties and many more, who assisted in our research and work for the ‘Together, we can’ movement.

Join the ‘Together, we can’ movement by signing the petition, today!