Poor mental health services are killing men

The MHF have told MPs that health-policy makers need to explore the idea that there may be male specific indicators of depression which are currently under recognised by clinicians.

MHF Policy Officer David Wilkins made the point during a meeting of the All-Party Group on Men's Health looking at mental health. The group, coordintaed by the MHF and chaired by Howard Stoate MP heard from Professor Louis Appleby CBE, right, the government's national director for mental health and Dr Frank Keating, senior lecturer in health and social care at Royal Holloway University of London.

Howard Stoate, who is also a GP, told the MPs that although women are far more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health problem, men are far more likely to commit suicide. MHF parliamentary officer Colin Penning, who organised the meeting said: 'Clearly this suggests that there are men who need help and are not getting it with tragic results. The meeting was a small but necessary step towards closing that gap.'

• A full report of the meeting and Professor Appleby's slides on suicide are available here.