Lanarkshire mum's inspirational mental health campaign continues as Health Secretary weighs in on petition

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Lanarkshire mum campaigning for better mental health services once again had her petition heard in Scottish Parliament.Karen McKeown tragically lost her partner Luke Henderson to suicide five years ago despite seeking help eight times before his death.Her petition appeared before the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee after garnering support with over 1300 signatures.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android The 34-year-old from Mossend has since gave evidence at Holyrood herself and this week the Scottish Government's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf was invited to the discussion along with other MSPs.Positive talks were held on Wednesday, December 21, and Karen said she definitely felt her campaign is being listened to after the Health Secretary agreed that Luke was failed by the system.Karen is calling for a full review of mental health services and has suggested bringing in separate A&E facilities for people in crisis, with triage hubs in hospitals, instead of having to contact police in times of crisis.Mr Yousaf spoke positively on this point, agreeing that A&E is "not the appropriate place to be in those circumstances".He continued: "I have to say it's a real failure in our approach that we have police officers attend somebody who is in distress and be with them for five hours. "It