News

GP surgeries to provide specialist mental health support

Thousands of new mental health experts will be on hand to support people in their local GP practice amid record demand for services, the head of the NHS announced today. Fully trained experts from local NHS trusts will offer people with severe mental health problems such as bipolar, psychosis or eating disorders, a consultation, treatment, […]

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NHS fast tracks mental health support for millions of pupils

More than 2.4 million children and young people now have access to mental health support in schools and colleges, thanks to the NHS fast tracking services to help address record demand. The NHS rollout is already one year ahead of schedule – more than 500 teams will be confirmed ahead of the April 2023 ambition […]

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NHS treating record number of young people for eating disorders

More young people than ever before are receiving treatment for eating disorders according to the latest figures, the NHS said today. Almost 10,000 children and young people started treatment between April and December with record demand for services – an increase of a quarter compared to the same period last year and up by almost […]

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Widespread support for proposed NHS mental health access standards for patients

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 […]

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NHS launches new gambling addiction clinics to meet record demand

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 […]

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NHS launches landmark mental health campaign with ‘Help!’ from The Beatles

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 […]

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Record high patient numbers completing NHS treatment for common mental illness

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 […]

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NHS mental health job coaches help thousands find work

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. […]

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NHS England proposes new mental health access standards

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 […]

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NHS mental health crisis helplines receive three million calls

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 […]

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