You can respond http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/eletter-submit/199/4/342 from Downloaded The Royal College of Psychiatrists Published by on November 3, 2012 http://bjp.rcpsych.org/site/subscriptions/ go to: The British Journal of Psychiatry To subscribe to Preventive psychiatry within public health Thank you, BJPsych, for your timely editorial on population mental health. 1 It is a pity that the authors did not mention the strategy for England entitled No Health without Mental Health, launched in February (before their final submission) as this strategy did involve precisely the teamwork of psychiatrists, public health specialists and economists that they see as 'the challenge'. Their 'must list' for psychiatry begins with help 'to remedy the consequences of adversity and vulnerabilities'. A key weakness of UK attempts to address health inequalities has been a failure of leadership 2 – and the common mental disorders show a steeper social gradient than common physical illnesses such as heart disease. Can the Royal College of Psychiatrists take a lead in addressing the antecedents of adversity and vulnerability, not just the 'consequences'? Desolate, impoverished neighbourhoods spawn childhood mental illness 3 and rising unemployment breeds desperate drinking and suicidal despair. 4 In the original National Health Service Act 1946, maternity services were the exemplar of planning equitable care on the basis of population health needs . . . but in England today many maternity services are at breaking point, with antenatal care services widely sacrificed to maintain staffing for deliveries. The College could speak with unique authority on the need for better antenatal care, to prevent a generation blighted by neurodevelopmental problems. 5