A GP says, “Female, mid 50s, with lifelong mental health problems and a long history of self-harming, has never worked. She probably has learning difficulties and has limited literacy skills. She has been presenting more frequently in the surgery with increased anxiety and episodes of self-harm. She is having to live on £168 per fortnight because her benefits have been cut. She is relying on handouts from her family, who are all local residents and also struggling financially, but is going without heating over three days a week until her money is sent through. She is already linked into the community health team, but this will not address the underlying trigger to her increased presentation with mental health problems, which are the consequence of her poverty.”

Source: http://figr.es/s209