My Commitment to Mental Health

In fact, having experienced first-hand the traumatic effect of anxiety, depression and the often-associated addictions like alcoholism that go with it, I am personally deeply committed to helping tackle Mental Health issues and those who too often suffer in silence. I am very proud of the initiatives I launched when Minister for Digital Health and my work with charities such as Big White Wall, the National Association of Children of Alcoholics and the Child Stammering Centre, as well as my work locally and nationally to help those suffering from Dementia and its huge social and economic impact on sufferers, carers, families and communities.

However, I hugely regret if my comment inadvertently caused any offence which was not intended. In highlighting the purpose of PIPs (Personal Independence Payments) and the Government’s intent to ensure those monies are focused on those with the most acute extra cost of living with disabilities such as blindness or dialysis, I was in NO way seeking to stigmatise less immediately costly but equally painful and debilitating mental illnesses.

From my own personal experience and my twenty years working in medical research, I have always been 100% committed to tackling Mental Health. As a former Health Minister and now Chair of the PM's Policy Board, I am proud of our Party's commitment to Mental Health and our ongoing work in this vitally important area of 21st-century healthcare.

George Freeman MP

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