The email below will be personalised using the information you provide below. Your postcode allows us to match you to your constituency and regional candidates.
Did you know that people with mental illness die on average 15 years earlier than people without? Two-thirds of these early deaths are because of preventable physical health problems which are too often overlooked or dismissed because of a person’s diagnosis of mental illness.
This injustice must end.
Scotland needs to Show Up for people with mental illness and ensure no one dies as a result of a healthcare system that too often discriminates against them. I’m backing SAMH’s calls to reduce the life expectancy gap between people living with mental illness and people without by at least 10% by 2034 and by 25% by 2046, through:
- Annual physical health checks designed specifically to catch those issues which are regularly missed
- Improved access to tailored healthy lifestyle programmes
- Action to reduce the disproportionate number of people with mental illness living in poverty, including dedicated employment support and a fair social security system.
The Show Up campaign is central to SAMH’s manifesto (www.samh.org.uk/manifesto2026) for the Scottish Parliament election, which also calls for more funding for mental health and enhanced community mental health support, as well as support for children and young people’s mental health and better resourcing for suicide prevention.
Please show your support on social media using this draft copy:
"I'm supporting SAMH's call for urgent action to tackle the 15-year life expectancy gap between people living with mental illness and people without. This injustice needs to end, and must be a priority for the next Scottish Government. #ShowUpWithSAMH"
As my local candidate, I am asking you to Show Up for mental health by supporting this campaign and encouraging your party to take urgent action to show up for people with mental illness.
