BELGIAN BRAIN COUNCIL
BBC
The Belgian Brain Council (BBC) is a coordinating council formed by Belgian Universities, organisations in neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, basic brain research (neuroscience), patients organisations, pharmaceutical industries and medical devices companies.
ID: 712814020585-47
Lobbying Activity
Response to A comprehensive approach to mental health
15 Feb 2023
The Belgian Brain Council (BBC), a platform of key players in the brain areain Belgium, welcomes the European Commissions proposed initiative on a comprehensive approach to mental health. BBC works in collaboration with EBC (European Brain Council) with the organisations Value of Treatment for Brain Disorders projects, strives to provide solutions to the challenges people with mental health disorders are facing: stigma, poor well-being and quality of life, long and windy care pathway, insufficient research to better understand and treat their mental health disorders. The EU initiative on Mental Health needs to focus on the prevention of mental disorders and care solutions to all individuals with mental health disorders. To prevent and treat mental health conditions, and improve individuals with mental disorders quality of life, the patient must be put at the centre and mental health services improved, associating all workforces by: - Sharing best practices at EU level about multi-disciplinary patient-centred care pathways for people with mental health disorders - Facilitating collaboration between relevant stakeholders to address unmet needs and increase coordination in brain health across countries, disciplines, and sectors - Increasing patient-centred research covering the patient care pathway, patient reported outcomes measurement - Increasing research to make breakthroughs in discovery of biological mechanisms underlying mental health disorders and their treatment. - Implementing a Mental Health in all Policies approach at EU and national level focussing on risk reduction, subclinical and early detection, timely and tailored interventions at all levels (education, employment, healthcare, old age) - Involving relevant stakeholders involved in policy development, implementation, monitoring and assessment - Supporting implementation of national mental health plans, duly funded, with clear targets and monitoring - Providing those affected and their relatives with information about the disorder and how to access the care services. Value-based healthcare is gaining traction in Europe as the desired solution or path forward in improving health systems. EBCs work has provided an insight into the value of early interventions to improve children and young peoples mental health and causes of ill-health. This calls for comprehensive mental health care models intertwining wider patient and societal outcomes with efficient spending of resources. Reinforcing this should lead to both better care for patients and a more sustainable framework for payers. The good mental health of the European population is a fundamental resource for social stability and economic prosperity, as well as for quality of life. This calls for a EU Brain Capital Strategy preserving individuals brain health (emotional, behavioural, and cognitive strengths across the life span) and promoting good mental health, enhancing individuals brain skills to boost the brain economy (an economy where most new jobs demand cognitive, emotional, and social, not manual, skills, and where innovation is a tangible deliverable of employee productivity). This entails investments in health systems support in the transition to value-based health care, government grant-making, social impact investing, taxation and accounting restructuring, medical innovation investments.
Read full response