A £150 million investment up to 2024/25 will better support people experiencing – or at risk of experiencing – mental health crises to receive care and support in more appropriate settings outside of A&E, helping to ease pressures facing the NHS.
The funding will allow for the procurement of up to 100 new mental health ambulances, which will take specialist staff directly to patients to deliver support on scene or transfer them to the most appropriate place for care.
It will also fund 150 new projects centred on supporting the provision of mental health crisis response and urgent mental health care. The new projects include over 30 schemes providing crisis cafes, crisis houses and other similar safe spaces, as well as over 20 new or improved health-based places of safety which provide a safe space for people detained by the police. Improvements to NHS 111 and crisis phone lines will also be rolled out.
The new ambulances have been designed to provide a calmer environment, avoiding the bright yellow interior of traditional NHS ambulances and using simple NHS service logos, dimmable lighting and space for family and friends to accompany the patient during assessment. These are backed by £7 million in government funding.
The remaining £143 million of capital funding, announced in the 2021 Spending Review, will go towards the 150 new projects. It will be invested in providing and improving a range of spaces to support people experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, mental health crises. This includes new mental health urgent assessment and care centres and the redesign and refurbishment of existing mental health suites and facilities including in emergency departments, creating spaces outside of A&E, and the expansion of crisis lines.
Karen said,
“I am pleased that Staffordshire and Stoke -on-Trent funding includes an allocated national contribution over the total period of £821,000 for a Crisis café, £3,150,000 for a Crisis assessment centre at Stafford and £1,564,000 for Project Chrysalis - a new mental health inpatient ward at the Harplands Hospital. This should help ease the pressures on our A&E and make sure that people get the specialist support they need.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:
“With the health systems facing huge challenges this winter from the rise in flu, ongoing Covid cases and the impact of the pandemic, we need to ensure people are still receiving the right specialist care.
“These dedicated facilities will ensure patients experiencing a mental health crisis receive the care they need in an appropriate way, whilst freeing up staff availability including within A&E departments.
“These schemes – along with the up to 100 new mental health ambulances – will give patients across the country greater access to high-quality, tailored support when needed the most.”
