LONDON, Aug 6: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Thursday unveiled a new 343-million-pound plan to open 159 National Health Service (NHS) mental health centres across England to ensure quicker specialist crisis care outside busy hospital emergency departments.
Described as the biggest redesign of mental health services in a generation, the UK's state-funded health sector will offer walk-in support at 100 new community mental health centres.
The remaining 59 units will be designed as dedicated mental health emergency departments, giving patients in crisis specialist care without the need to access NHS Accident and Emergency (A&E) units.
"Nobody should be left to struggle with their mental health alone. But every day, thousands of people are waiting months for help, then finding the only door open to them is a busy A&E," said Burnham.
"These new centres will be a lifeline for so many. They will bring NHS services closer to home, making it easier to get support before problems get worse, and ensuring those in crisis get the right care in the right place," he said.
The first of these new sites have already begun opening, with further facilities planned from March 2027 onwards.
Professor Subodh Dave, President of the UK's Royal College of Psychiatrists, welcomed the move for its potential to help more people access support earlier and closer to home.
"To maximise its impact, it will be important to build on past learnings and ensure these new services deliver genuinely joined-up care for patients, without compromising quality," the Indian-origin medic said.
"New neighbourhood services and same day emergency care pathways should simplify access to support by reducing repeated assessments and fragmented care. Mental health is a key component of neighbourhood healthcare, and this model must be developed to meet the needs of people with severe mental illness, as this will help to ensure they receive the right care at the right time," he said.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the new centres are aimed at bringing mental health and specialist teams together under one roof – working alongside general practitioners (GPs), councils, the voluntary sector and families, with direct links into housing and employment support.
"Too many people are only getting mental health support when they reach crisis point, after struggling for far too long to get the help they need," Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said during a visit this week to a community mental health centre in Sheffield – one of six already operating in England.
"These new community mental health centres will help people get support earlier and closer to home, making it easier to get the right care before problems escalate. And when someone does need urgent help, new mental health emergency departments will be able to make sure they are seen quickly by specialist teams in the right setting.
"This is how we can turn the tide on mental ill health – preventing more people from reaching crisis, cutting waits for care, and building an NHS which is there for everyone when they need it," she said.
While some of the community hubs will be newly built facilities, others will be created in libraries, banks and other community or high street locations as part of the NHS plan to improve access to such facilities.
They will all be in the heart of the neighbourhoods they serve and designed as welcoming settings with a non-clinical appearance, the DHSC said.
Alongside, the 59 new mental health emergency departments will provide fast, same-day specialist support for people experiencing a crisis who are medically fit and do not need treatment in A&E, it added.
The move forms part of a forthcoming Mental Health Strategy, which will look beyond the NHS to the role of England's schools, employers, local government and the voluntary sector in supporting good mental health of citizens. (PTI)
