‘Mental health is priority for town’

As part of the national Mental Health Awareness Week, North Essex health commissioners have offered wellbeing advice to residents in the town.

Clacton suffers from a disproportionally high number of mental health cases compared to other parts of the county.

Police in Tendring responded to 172 mental health incidents last month - three times more than any other district in Essex

Det Chief Supt Paul Wells, district commander, said: “Police in Tendring typically deal with significantly more mental health related incidents than other district.

“Mental health is a complex issue. We work with the NHS and other agencies to try to make sure that the right people are involved in the care and management of people with mental ill health and a small minority of examples actually require or benefit from police involvement.

“If someone is unwell but there is no significant or immediate risk to them or someone else, we will always recommend seeking medical attention through a GP, A&E or ambulance, or some other established point of contact with a medical professional.

“All that said, a number of such incidents do warrant police involvement and we continue to be called a number of times every day to incidents involving people with temporary or long-term mental health or behavioural conditions.

“These incidents continue to represent a significant investment in officer time.”

Mr Wells called on residents to look after their own mental health and watch out for the people around them.

He added: “I am told time and time again that early identification and professional support for mental ill health, are both absolutely key and as with so many things, confronting and talking about the issue as a community is essential to making things better.”

“We have specialist mental health experts who deploy every day with police officers. Over the years our understanding of the impact and treatment of mental ill health has come on leaps and bounds and as an organisation we are still exploring ways to be better and to work more effectively with everyone else.”

Dr Hasan Chowhan, chairman of North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, appealed for residents to get help if they need it.

He said: “Prioritising mental health is so important.

“It’s not one-size-fits-all - I like to run or cycle most weekends and make sure that I have protected time with my family, but for other people, mindfulness and meditation might be the key to self-care.

“It’s also good to make full use of your support network around you - friends and family who are happy to help when you are feeling stressed or down.

“No matter what, it’s important to talk to somebody, which is why I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t been feeling right for a while to self-refer through our services.”

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies is a national initiative and the service, provided by Health in Mind, provides access to a range of talking therapy treatments for adults with common mental health problems.

Find out more about referral, including how to self-refer online, from the Health in Mind website.

A Wellbeing Football group was launched at Clacton Leisure Centre, in Vista Road, on Monday as part of Mental Health Awareness week.

The new project aims to help adults enjoy weekly football sessions and opportunities for coaching and development whilst supporting mental health and wellbeing.

Wellbeing Football is run by Disability4Sport, which is working with Tendring Council, to hold the sessions every Monday from 1pm to 2pm.

Rebecca Morton, the council’s executive projects manager, said: “It is hoped through sessions like this we can get people active, raise awareness and most importantly encourage people to talk about their mental health.”