A SCOTTISH Government minister has criticised Wes Streeting for suggesting there is an overdiagnosis of mental health problems.
The UK Health Secretary was asked by the BBC on Sunday whether he thought overdiagnosis was a problem, to which he replied: “I want to follow the evidence and I agree with that point about overdiagnosis.”
He added: “Here’s the other thing, mental wellbeing, illness, it’s a spectrum and I think definitely there’s an overdiagnosis but there’s too many people being written off and, to your point about treatment, too many people who just aren’t getting the support they need.”
His comments have sparked huge concern amongst mental health campaigners and psychiatry experts, with the Mind charity saying it was important to be “extremely careful” with the language around mental health diagnoses to avoid “stigmatising”.
Psychiatry expert Professor Daniel Smith also told The National Streeting's claims were a "distraction" from the "chronic underfunding" of mental health services.
Now Scotland's Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd has said Streeting should not be commenting on the diagnosis of mental health conditions.
She told The National: “The diagnosis of mental health conditions is rightly for qualified healthcare professionals, not government ministers, to take.
“We have made supporting the mental health and wellbeing of the people of Scotland an absolute priority and through combined Scottish Government and NHS Board funding we expect spending on mental health to be around £1.5 billion in 2025-26.”
There are reports that this could include cuts to the personal independence payment (PIP), the main disability benefit.
Smith, whose expertise is in bipolar disorder, said he found Streeting’s remarks disrespectful and has concerns about how they may impact people facing severe mental health problems.
“I’m slightly disappointed when politicians come out with single line sentences like this in such a complex area and it’s slightly disrespectful to patients and their families as well as clinicians who are grappling with these complexities,” he told The National.
He added that while there is potentially an issue with milder mental health difficulties being misdiagnosed in some circumstances, people with severe mental health conditions are still waiting years to access the support they need because of a delay in diagnosis.
"We know from lots of research that most people with bipolar disorder experience quite a long delay before getting the correct diagnosis – on average about eight years of delay between first having symptoms and finally getting a diagnosis," said Smith.
Minesh Patel, associate director of policy and campaigns at Mind, said: “The Secretary of State is absolutely right that not enough people are getting the support they need.
“For years, mental health waiting lists have been a major problem, what we need now is a clear plan from this Government on how they intend to tackle them.
“Applying for benefits is not an easy process.
“People with a mental health problem must go through a lengthy and arduous assessment process, with decisions to not award support often overturned at appeal stage.
"We must also be extremely careful with the language around mental health diagnoses, which risks creating a climate of stigmatising people’s real experiences and undermining the opinions of medical professionals."
