Last Thursday we were invited to join Age in Mind for a reception at Scottish Parliament. The purpose of the reception was to discuss the experience of older people with lived experience of mental health conditions accessing mental health services. This has been an issue we have been focusing on through our own work with our project, Creating Conversations, so it was great to hear from MSP Jackie Baillie on the issue and how other projects like Age in Mind can help raise awareness.
We heard from three network members, John Sawkins, Rosemary Carter, and Dianna Manson, who outlined the issues they had while accessing older peoples mental health services. Similar themes came up through each talk, most notably the disparity in the services you receive before and after turning 65, and the difference in how mental and physical health are treated.
‘Social prescribing works. We need to have support and encouragement to go to activities we enjoy like art groups, gardening and community activities. We have something to offer – it reduces isolation and we get to meet people and enjoy ourselves.’
“If you have an existing mental health problem it can often take until you’re in your 50’s to get everything sorted out – then when you turn 65 it all gets taken away.’
‘When I was under 65 years I got 4 hours per month with Community Psychiatric Nurse- now I’m in older people’s services, that’s been reduced to 1 hour a month.’
You can find out more about these issues on the Age in Mind website, and also in this Herald article featuring network member Dianna Manson.