This week, Cornwall’s Air
Ambulance Service celebrated its 30th birthday. Towards the end of
last year, Cornwall Air Ambulance was awarded £1 million from the Libor banking
fund, boosting their fundraising for a new helicopter. I remember when the
Cornwall Air Ambulance began in 1987. It was the first air ambulance in the UK.
Since then, it has completed more than 26,000 missions and saved many lives.
Other good news this week was the
announcement that a new mental health unit will open in Cornwall in the summer
of 2019. The purpose-built 12 bed unit will open in Bodmin. This is a much
needed facility in Cornwall, that will help young people. Previously, young people have had to travel out of
county, as far afield as Cheshire and Norwich, in order to access treatment.
In recent years,
the number of young people affected by mental health problems has increased.
Maybe it’s the pressure to fit in and to belong - a sentiment that always
existed - but seems to have been heightened by social media in the digital age
which is relentless and immediate but often impersonal and sometimes offensive.
There is good
work being done. Last year, measures to transform the way we approach and deal
with mental health locally were introduced, to ensure that more young people
receive support and care.
Some good work
is done by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) service,
which helps children and young people deal with emotional, behavioural or
mental health issues. There are also some good charities out there which help
provide the support needed. A great example is the Invictus Trust, a small
charity which aims to support and offer services to local teenagers who are
suffering from mental health problems and associated issues. But all agree
that this is a challenge of our age.
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