LOCAL organisations are calling for a radical change in the system after an independent inquiry revealed that people with mental health problems are among the most socially excluded in Britain.

Mental Health support groups in Bury are concerned by the findings and are now demanding that action be taken.

The inquiry commissioned by the national mental health charity, Mind, took two years to compile.

More than 400 organisations were involved, 30 of which were from the North West including NHS trusts, religious bodies, and the police. The research showed that people's lives changed once they had received a psychiatric diagnosis. But the change came about not because of their condition but because they had suddenly been marked as different.

Judi Clements, Mind chief executive, said: "In the days of Victorian asylums people were shut away from society by bricks and mortar. At the end of this century people with mental health problems are excluded by prejudice alone."

She added: "Given half the chance people with mental health problems can lead full and active lives and be valuable members of the local community."

Mrs Lily Reid, chairman of Making Space, a support group for people in Bury with mental health problems and their carers, said the findings did not come as a surprise to her. She stressed that support groups and social services in Bury were working together to ensure people with mental health problems are not excluded from society.

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