Politicians in Bracknell have launched a months long investigation into the state of mental health in the area.

Councillors on Bracknell Forest Council launched the review of mental health in Bracknell Forest in a meeting this week.

The month-long review is being undertaken to find out ways to improve the mental health of the public in the area and make recommendations to bosses at the council.

Councillor Michael Gibson (Conservative, Hanworth), who is charge of the review, said: “I’m very pleased to be doing this.

“The panel has been discussing what to do next and it was unanimously agreed that mental health is one of the most important areas of health awareness, particularly coming off Mental Health Month in October and World Mental Health Day that was held last month as well.

“It’s very important to get a view of this from the health, public, and voluntary sectors.”

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The review is being conducted by councillors on the health and care overview and scrutiny panel, which is chaired by Cllr Gibson.

In the first meeting, councillors viewed presentations by Nadia Barakat, the director for mental health at NHS Frimley CCG, and Heema Shukla, a consultant in Public Health at Bracknell Forest Council.

You can view the meeting in full below: 

At the end of the review, the findings of the panel will be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission for approval. Any agreed recommendations will be presented to Bracknell Forest Council’s executive committee for implementation.

Similar reviews have been undertaken into loneliness and social isolation in the area,  the process of obtaining a disabled blue badge in Bracknell Forest, and the roll out of food waste collections in the area.

The first meeting was held on Tuesday, November 2.