Be More Human: Why Mental Health Care is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It - An Interview with Sir Norman Lamb
From Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health · 42:09
Show by Mad in America
This week, we are asking why people with mental health conditions die 15-20 years earlier than people without. Why does the UK spend £100 million every year placing patients far from home? How did the question, 'What matters to you?' transform mental health care in Norway? Can mental healthcare be more compassionate? Sir Norman Lamb asks these questions, and more, in his book Be More Human, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Sir Norman is a former Health Minister, an NHS trust chair, and a dedicated mental health campaigner who was knighted in 2019 for his public and political service. He has seen the cracks in the system up close. In his book, he sets out to answer these questions, and many others, uncovering the reasons why our mental health services are failing. He shares eye-opening stories from patients who have been let down, but also inspiring tales from trailblazers who are shaking things up with creative, community-first solutions. In this interview, we talk about how his personal and professional experiences led to him wanting to lift the lid on the UK's mental health system. We also discuss how personal accounts of mistreatment and abuse motivated him to think differently about the human element so often missing from mental healthcare. Finally, we discuss novel, community-based alternatives that offer dignity, compassion and hope. *** Thank you for being with us to listen to the podcast and read our articles this year. MIA is funded entirely by reader donations. If you value MIA, please help us continue to survive and grow. https://www.madinamerica.com/donate/ To find the Mad in America podcast on your preferred podcast player, click here: https://pod.link/1212789850 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://www.madinamerica.com/newsletter-sign-up/ © Mad in America 2026. Produced by James Moore https://www.jmaudio.org
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