Description
Hi, I’m Tony Weekes. I grew up in East London, the son of a consultant surgeon and a nurse. I have witnessed at first-hand the mental suffering of close family members. In trying to ease their suffering, I have tried, sometimes succeeded, other times failed, to surmount the problems caused by the current care system’s serious lack of funding and the resulting lack of cohesion.
I am not a professional in the field of mental health, but I could not sit back and do nothing. So I founded Unity, a grassroots movement to revolutionise mental health care in the United Kingdom through education, recognition and intervention. The NHS is a world leader, Unity will also make mental health care here world renowned.
Tony Weekes grew up in East London, the son of a consultant surgeon and a nurse. Following his education to degree level, he worked his way up to office management level. The combination of his upbringing, life and work experience has made him see the good in every situation and solve any problem that confronts him as it arises.
He has witnessed the pain and suffering, which mental ill health has caused several of his extended family members, and at times has found this overwhelming. As a result for the past few years he has devoted all of his energy, enthusiasm and determination into generating solutions for the problems they faced.
Tony has built and coordinated the Unity Team. Unity is his vision of how the stigma of the United Kingdom’s (UK) mental health problems can be dismantled; how effective ongoing treatment can be made accessible; and how socio-economic empowerment for sufferers can be provided as the result. Tony has built this caring community – not from the perspective of a professional in the field of mental health – but from first hand experience of trying to ease the suffering of his loved ones. He has tried, sometimes succeeded, other times failed, to surmount the problems caused by the current care system’s serious lack of funding and the resulting lack of cohesion.
He says the biggest lesson he has learnt is the role of the family in securing treatment for someone suffering mental ill health is second only to the acknowledgement of the person suffering.
Unity is a grassroots movement to revolutionise mental health care in the United Kingdom through education, recognition and intervention. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is a world leader in health care and Tony wants to establish Unity as a leader in mental health care. His vision, shared in this, his first book, is of Unity Mental Health Service – Unity MHS – becoming world renowned and helping people right across the globe.
