Government spending cuts to mental health services, made despite mental illness affecting one in six adults in the UK, are being highlighted by the Liberal Democrats in the House of Commons today. Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb MP, who will be leading today's opposition day debate, said:
Working with hearing or visually impaired colleagues can mean rethinking the way you communicate. But finding a common language is easier than it seems.
Having a degree and excellent skills count for little if you are disabled and live in residential care. Why? If your CV read like Doug Paulley's, you would probably expect to spend a lifetime as a high-earning IT professional. First-class degree, excellent IT skills, head-hunted more than once as a web designer, age 29.
Laurie Young spent seven months in hospital with an inflammatory bowel condition. Laurie, who has Parkinson's disease, was in intensive care three times and his heart stopped once - his family were told he was not expected to survive. He could not eat, lost the ability to speak walk and was hallucinating.
Reading the article by Nick Bishop, who has cerebral palsy, on coping with getting around bars and restaurants, I found myself nodding in agreement (a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jan/10/disability.longtermcare">How am I supposed to get up there?, January 10).
We are entering a new era for public sector reform. Labour's approach - more money and more central control - has reached its limits. 10 years of investment have helped improve our NHS from the desperate state of 1997, after decades of Conservative neglect, but it still isn't good enough.