By 22 August, the ‘Free Your Mind’ campaign will reach out to more than two million people in Lambeth and neighbouring boroughs – using text messaging, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter to support people to take care of their mental health. It’s been created by NHS South East London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
Word from the Cabinet
Can you spot the signs of mental ill-health?
Cllr Jim Dickson, Lambeth Council Cabinet Member for Health, said: “Covid-19 has a profound effect on everyone’s mental health, creating new worries and concerns or magnifying existing ones. Even before the pandemic, many people in Lambeth were having to cope with loneliness, isolation and housing and financial worries. Recent weeks have made life even more difficult – affecting all ages, all walks of life. We want people to know the NHS and its partners are here for them.”
Links and partnerships
‘Free Your Mind’ was created in close partnership with south east London mental health providers like the South London and Maudsley and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trusts, and XenZone – whose mental health and wellbeing platform, Kooth is visited by 1,500 young people each day. Free Your Mind includes resources from Healthy London Partnership and Good Thinking and links with local voluntary sector organisations. Help tailored to the needs of young people, BAME groups, and the elderly is included.
Legacy
The CCG’s clinical lead for mental health, Southwark GP, Dr Nancy Kuchemann, said: “The mental health legacy of Covid-19 will be with us for a long time to come. Even as we emerge from lockdown, many continue to live with the consequences of the pandemic, including lost income, isolation and fractured relationships. We’re confident ‘Free Your Mind’ will deliver significant and measurable results in enabling people to get the help they need and deserve. We also want ‘Free Your Mind’ to have a legacy – a positive one, offering hope and help to the people of south east London at a time when they need it most.”
More information
What is mental health?
- For more on ‘Free Your Mind’, visit their website.
- NHS South East London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is a clinically led organisation responsible for planning, buying and monitoring health services in Lambeth and other south eastern London boroughs.
