Councillors have unanimously backed a motion to help banish the stigma of mental health.
The Labour opposition group at Staffordshire County Council saw its proposals backed by the controlling Conservative group.
Cllr Sue Woodward, leader of the Labour group, said everyone had a part to play in ensuring support was available when people need it.
“As councillors and leaders in our communities, we collectively and individually have a role in ensuring services are there for our residents, promoting mental health and parity of esteem with physical health and removing the stigma of mental health problems,” she said.
“We must be proactive and I hope it won’t just be left to a mental health champion but all of us. One in four experience a mental health problem every year – about 15 members in the council chamber and about 2,000 residents in each county council division.”
Labour’s deputy leader, Cllr Charlotte Atkins, added that mental health was an issue affecting a wide sector of society.
“It is clear that we are nowhere near achieving parity of esteem between mental and physical health services,” she said.
“Although half of all lifetime mental health problems emerge before the age of 14 years, we are not investing enough in early detection and treatment of mental health in schools – only 16 per cent of expenditure on child mental health services goes on early intervention. With local schools now making staff redundancies, mental health is often the first area to lose out.
“There is also an alarming rise in young mental health patients treated far from home – nearly 70 per cent of child and adolescent admissions were out of area. So they are deprived of family support when they need it most. That situation would not be tolerated for physical illness.”
