News > Dr. Liam Fox at the POWIC Conference

Created: 2005-09-17 19:51:23

Dr Liam Fox MP made a keynote speech "Treating mental illness - putting right the decades of failure" at The Prince of Wales International Centre for SANE Research (SANE POWIC) in Oxford.

Dr Fox’s speech, at SANE POWIC’s conference “Psychosis as a disorder of modern Homo Sapiens on Sunday 25 September, exposed of the lack of progress in the way the UK treats mental illness.

SANE’s Chief Executive, Marjorie Wallace, said: “Dr Fox has remained loyal to the cause of mental illness, choosing to put it at the forefront of his own and the country’s political agenda. His speech is timely, as despite all the pledges; mentally ill people and their families are still being sorely short-changed and the psychiatric services struggle unfairly against the odds.

“The real way forward is to find the cause of severe mental illness such as schizophrenia. At SANE’s International Research Centre we are undertaking cutting edge research into the causes of severe mental illness, in the hope of developing better treatments and eventual prevention or cure.”

Commenting on his visit to SANE, Dr Fox said: “The treatment of mental illness in the UK falls very far below the standard befitting a caring, decent society. When I was Shadow Health Secretary, I was therefore determined to tackle this crisis. For this reason, I am putting the issue at the heart of the campaign for my party’s leadership.

“I was honoured that Marjorie Wallace invited me to deliver the keynote speech at the conference. I have worked very closely with Marjorie and her colleagues at SANE for several years. I have the utmost respect and regard for their work.“