More specialist care for people in crisis
Alongside the community centres, 59 new mental health emergency departments will provide same-day specialist support for people experiencing a mental health crisis who are medically fit and do not require treatment in A&E.
The departments will be located alongside emergency services and work with ambulance and police teams. They are designed to provide a calmer, more therapeutic environment where people can be assessed quickly and connected with appropriate ongoing care.
The expansion will more than double the number of dedicated mental health emergency departments in England, taking the total to 82.
Dr Nick Broughton, National Priority Programme Director for Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental Conditions, said:
“The rollout of more community mental health centres and dedicated mental health emergency departments will build on this work, strengthening both early support in the community and care for people in crisis, while helping services work together more effectively around people’s needs.”
A shift from crisis to prevention
Mental health organisations have broadly welcomed the plans, while emphasising the importance of making services genuinely accessible and joined up.
Brian Dow, Deputy Chief Executive at Rethink Mental Illness, said:
“Everyone should be able to access mental health support in their local community, when and where they need it.”
The Mental Health Foundation also highlighted the importance of addressing wider factors that can affect mental health, including debt, unemployment and insecure housing.
Mark Rowland, Chief Executive at the Mental Health Foundation, said:
“By bringing together services in community hubs, the NHS and other services can take an earlier and holistic approach to mental health.”
For children and young people, Barnardo’s Chief Executive Lynn Perry stressed the importance of preventing problems from escalating.
“We urgently need to shift focus from response to prevention – helping children and young people get the support they need before reaching crisis point.”
The government says the new facilities form part of a wider shift towards prevention, with an upcoming mental health strategy expected to look beyond NHS services to the roles of schools, employers, local government and voluntary organisations.
If successfully implemented, the new approach could make it easier for people to access mental health support before they reach crisis, while providing more appropriate alternatives to A&E for those who need urgent help.