A new mental health facility for Cornwall

This week, Cornwall’s Air Ambulance Service celebrated its 30^th 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.