Sir Norman Lamb; Be More Human – Why Mental Health Care is broken and what can we do to fix it?

Ropetackle Arts Centre

Why do people with mental health conditions die 15–20 years earlier than others? Why is more than £100 million a year spent placing patients far from home? As community life weakens, inequality grows, and discrimination persists, mental health services too often feel impersonal and can even deepen the crisis they are meant to address. Former Health Minister, NHS trust chair, and long-standing campaigner Sir Norman Lamb has seen those failures up close. In this book, he examines why mental health services are falling short and what must change. Alongside powerful accounts from patients who have been failed by the system, he highlights innovators creating more compassionate, community-based care. His message is urgent and hopeful: we need a mental health revolution. Sir Norman Lamb is the former Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk and a former Minister of State for Care and Support. Knighted in 2019 for services to mental health, he also chaired South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust from 2020 to 2025. Professor Tanya Byron is a clinical psychologist, journalist, author and broadcaster with more than thirty years’ experience working with adults, adolescents, and parents. Her books include The Skeleton Cupboard: the making of a clinical psychologist , and she writes a weekly advice column for The Times .