Today is World Mental Health Awareness day!

Having seen first-hand how mental health issues have affected friends and family members, mental health provision has long been an issue very close to my heart. Untreated, mental health difficulties can destroy lives and I have always strived to do as much as I can to shine a light on this key issue and help campaign for improved services, treatment and support.

My own father sadly suffered a complete and tragic life collapse as a result of a toxic mix of head injuries, a career dependency on gambling and untreated mental illness including depression and alcoholism. Just ten years after winning the 1958 Grand National as the Queen Mother’s jockey, these issues meant he lost his marriage, livelihood and access to his children. As a result, I only met him a year prior to his death – and it’s in his memory that I set up The Bridge of Hope charity to help those suffering with poor mental health as they look to find a route back into employment.

I also saw the devastation that mental health can inflict upon the families of my friends – including the suicide of a late friend’s son after years of battling bipolar disorder.

Each life lost is one too many.

As I have often said throughout my time as a Member of Parliament, I believe strongly that the key to ending the “cinderella-ism” of mental health is a full and deep alignment of mental health into the NHS itself (through patient pathways, proper service planning and the like). That's why I have actively worked on this with the likes of Norman Lamb over the years and why I welcome the decision by the Government in 2012 to enshrine parity of esteem for physical and mental health in law. It was a great step forward, and we have seen a lot of positive progress being made to tackle this issue.

More can, and must, be done however – and that’s why I take every opportunity to highlight this vital issue, and why I continue to actively work towards the improvement of provision and support in our part of the world, and beyond. We still have serious problems with the NFST and a lack of integrated local services and I am determined to do all I can with my fellow parliamentary colleagues here in the East in the weeks and months ahead.

To learn more about my work on this crucial issue, please click here.