The NHS has today set out new ambitions for patients to have timely access to community mental healthcare, following a consultation on proposed new standards, as it faces record demand following the pandemic. Patients, clinicians, and the public have welcomed the proposed mental health access standards which include ensuring people in the community receive help […]

Two new gambling clinics will open in England this year, the NHS announced today as it faces record demand for specialist support for gambling addiction. The two new clinics, based in Southampton and Stoke-On-Trent, will open from May and mean there will be seven specialist clinics in place across England. The other five NHS gambling […]

Today, the NHS will launch a new landmark campaign using the iconic Beatles song ‘Help!” to get the nation taking better care of their mental health. Backed by some of the UK’s biggest artists, the campaign will encourage people struggling with their mental health to seek support. ‘Help!’, written by John Lennon in 1964, was […]

More people got a full course of NHS talking therapy treatment last year than ever before, despite the pressure on services from the pandemic, according to new figures published today. A record 634,649 people completed the NHS Talking Therapy programme in 2020/21, up around 5% on the 606,192 in the year before as many people […]

Thousands of people with mental health problems have been supported into employment during the pandemic, thanks to the NHS Long Term Plan. More than 4,000 people were employed over the last year in a range of roles including in retail and digital marketing as part of the employment support scheme run by the health service. […]

The NHS is set to take another major step towards improving patient access to mental health services with the introduction of five new waiting time guarantees, under plans set out today. The proposals could ensure that patients requiring urgent care will be seen by community mental health crisis teams within 24 hours of referral, with […]

Mental health phonelines run by the NHS have answered around three million calls during the pandemic. The dedicated 24/7 NHS mental health crisis helplines were fast-tracked to open a year ago so everyone could get rapid care they need without having to go to A&E. Most of the callers are able to receive treatment over […]

Children and young people will benefit from a cash injection to mental health services which includes addressing the increasing demand for the treatment of eating disorders. An extra £40 million has been allocated to address the COVID impact on children and young people’s mental health and enhance services across the country. One way the additional […]

Operations and other routine care are ahead of ambitions set out in April with mental health services back at pre-pandemic levels, NHS figures show today. The number of people waiting over 52 weeks to begin treatment dropped by more than 50,000 in April, while by May, operations and other elective activity had already climbed to […]

More than a million children and young people will have access to mental health support at school, as the NHS rapidly expands services to help deal with the huge disruption caused by coronavirus and lockdown. From this year, teams of experts are offering support to children experiencing anxiety, depression, and other common mental health issues. […]