A campaign for better mental health services led by a Lanarkshire mum who lost her partner to suicide has taken a huge step in the right direction.
Karen McKeown managed to attract more than 1300 signatures to her petition before submitting it to the Scottish Government.
And her calls for a full review of mental health services brought positive discussions by MSPs last Wednesday at the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee.
Karen says she now feels her pleas are being listened to as her campaign gathers momentum, promising that she will see it to the end.
It's been four years since the father of Karen's two children, Luke Henderson, took his own life, devastating her family and causing a ripple effect of mental health struggles for herself and kids.
But the 33-year-old from Mossend is determined to make a difference and fight the issue so no one else has to suffer.
Leading Karen’s campaign in Scottish Parliament is Central Scotland MSP Monica Lennon, who gave a moving speech in presenting the changes that Karen wishes to see.
Ms Lennon told the committee: “Karen McKeown is a constituent of mine in Central Scotland and she has become a friend through the most tragic of circumstances.
"Karen emailed me on December 30, 2017 just hours after Luke took his own life in the family home with the children in bed.
“It wasn’t through a lack of speaking out, because we’re all encouraged to speak out and be open about our mental health.
"We hear it’s okay not to be okay, but Karen and Luke tried to get help multiple times, I think it was around eight times and sadly Luke isn’t here.
“But Karen is still fighting, not just for her family, their outcome will never change but when I spoke to Karen from just outside the committee room, she impressed upon me that what happened to her family is not unique.
“Karen is not looking for sympathy. Karen is looking for system change, she’s looking for action. And Karen has now become the go-to person for people who have sadly gone through the same tragic loss that she has.”
The MSP also added: “I acknowledge that the Scottish Government understands how serious this is and it is a priority. But we’re not getting things right.
"It’s not just about putting more money into the system, there are parts that need more resources, there’s a workforce crisis, but there are areas where crisis support doesn’t exist.
"Risk assessments aren’t being carried out, people don’t have safe plans, pathways are not fully in place.”
Ms Lennon also stressed concern of NHS and health workers following the recent death of Catriona Gaskell, a young Lanarkshire doctor.
The committee took on board the importance of Karen’s petition, adding vital points which will now be passed to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care.
At the meeting, North East Scotland MSP Tess White weighed in on Karen’s petition, saying: “Reading this petition was deeply moving and Karen has been through a deeply deeply distressing experience and I’m concerned to hear that her partner repeatedly tried to seek mental health support in the days before his death.”
She called for an update from the Scottish Government on “progress on the suicide prevention action plan” and more action to pursue Karen’s campaign further.
Ms White added: “This is a crisis, we can’t just kick it into the long grass.”
After the meeting, Karen was advised by the committee that they have also agreed to write to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Samaritans, and the Scottish Association for Mental Health to widen the discussion on improvement to mental health services.
Karen told Lanarkshire Live : “It’s a step in the right direction but we can’t stop here.
"We have to keep pushing forward until we see real improvements on the front line.
“I feel the members listened to my pleas through Monica and my writing submission and can only hope this is the first step to reaching our goal of building a fit for purpose mental health services.”
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