Mental health care policy

Mental health care policy Name: Course: Instructor: Date: Part A The mental health policy chosen for this paper is the Healthy Minds, Healthy people: A Ten-Year Plan to Address Mental Health and Substance Use in British Columbia, Canada. Mental health is a significant complementary to physical health and thus issues emanating from mental health are critical to the well-being of individuals and the society. The World Health Organization defines mental health as the state of well-being where an individual is able to recognize their capabilities; works productively, can work in a productive nature, and is able to contribute to their community (Weinerman & Hollander, 2011). The condition of an individual’s mental health can thus be either good or poor. The presence of good mental health signifies the absence of any mental illnesses and thus an individual can focus in utilizing their capabilities for the general good. Mental illness is a major problem that affects individuals from all aspects of life and is not related to a particular group of people. The costs associated with mental health care and its ignorance in the society is considerable to B.C. Canada. The Province has over the years instituted several raft measures to tackle the challenge posed by mental health and related illnesses. The policy Healthy Minds, Healthy People is a good example of the commitment by the Province to tackle the mental health menace. The policy was instituted in 2010 to serve the next decade in numerous ways. The policy is aimed at transforming the approach of the Province about substance abuse and mental health. Substance abuse has been incorporated in the program as one of the key contributors to mental illnesses and thus the effects of substance abuse have to be addressed hand-in-hand with issues of mental health (MacCourt & Donnelly, 2012). Mental health as earlier addressed encompasses much more than mental illness and the two are distinct from each other hence the need to emphasize on positive mental health is the basis of this policy. The policy contains a number of milestones and goals to be covered by the Province and its partners over the decade concerning mental health (Weinerman & Hollander, 2011). The policy tackles five key areas which include the prevention of mental illness and substance use related problems, early and timely intervention, reinvestment in working solutions, achieving appropriate treatment, and health promotion to build capacity and strengthen resilience. The policy proposes the use of funds o already proven approaches that have open records of accomplishment. The plan incorporates the whole population of B.C. Canada province (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2012). The policy plan targets not only those with severe mental health issues, but also to assist those with minor problems, and the prevention of such problems before they start. The use of resources in particular endeavors will assist the government and its partner’s long-term plan of dealing with the menace comprehensively. The policy plan in targeting the whole population of the Province places its emphasis on families and children. Research have proven that mental health problems start at the early stages of growth and that early intervention can yield better results than late mitigation measures. The policy aims at delaying and lessening the impacts of mental health and substance use through early prevention. B.C. Canada has led the country in addressing children’s mental health issues prior to this policy with the implementation of the 2003 five-year Child and Youth Mental Health Plan (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2012). The mental health policy is an all-inclusive policy with the participation of everyone from the community to the government required. The framework for the policy is population centered and offers support services such as guidance and counseling and rehabilitation institutions to ensure that all mental health issues are tackled. The policy’s framework is flexible with provisions for growth over the ten-year period in relation to improving the mental health, quality of life, and the well-being of the people of British Columbia. The plan works with the already established neighborhood learning centers that are aimed at building stronger families. In dealing with mental health across the Province, the government has strengthened the Healthy Minds, Healthy People policy through several legislation touching on alcohol and other substance abuse (Weinerman & Hollander, 2011). The province has some of the toughest laws in Canada dealing with the abuse of substances both legal and illegal. Healthy Minds, Healthy People policy is well supported by the already existing facilities to tackle mental health challenges. The Province has projects aimed at increasing bed capacity of adult mental health patients to enable people access the facilities near their families. The Province aims to make gains through the policy’s recommendation of contracting service providers all over the Province to spearhead life skills programs. The policy targets to improve the quality and accessibility of services offered to people with mental health issues. The other challenge addressed in the policy is the reduction of all the costs directly linked to the public and private sector. Lastly, the policy is aimed at improving the mental health and the general well-being of the people of B.C. Canada. Part B The Healthy Minds, Healthy People policy has been in place for the last two years since August 2010 and has had some tremendous impacts as well as drawbacks in addressing mental health issues in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. The first merit of the policy is the reduction of smoking by pregnant mothers. The policy projects the reduction in smoking during pregnancy by a whopping 20 per cent as the first step toward achieving healthy minds. The achievement of this milestone is through the “Healthy Start” program that has a set of provisions of services to be offered in the pregnancy and post pregnancy period for mothers and their infants. Mental health is a big concern amongst pregnant women and girls and has a direct relationship on the mental health of the babies (Weinerman & Hollander, 2011). Pre-natal depression affects majority of the pregnant women throughout their pregnancy and thus the policy establishes measure to deal with the depression through the establishment of the Edinburgh Post and Pre Natal Depression Scale. The policy fits into the general characteristic of public policies in that it does not give an end itself, but it proposes a raft of measures to tackle the pre existing problem using existent public utilities and also provides a framework for setting up other facilities to aid solve the problem. The policy has recognized the major problems associated with mental health in the Province and in their definition has instituted a framework workable ...