STORY
The Government has announced a £343 million programme to open up to 159 NHS mental health facilities across England. The plans comprise 100 community mental health centres offering walk-in support without a referral and 59 dedicated mental health emergency departments intended to provide specialist crisis care outside general accident and emergency units.
The first facilities are expected to open from autumn 2026, with further centres following from March 2027. The community centres are intended to bring together mental health teams, GPs, councils, voluntary organisations and services dealing with employment and housing, so that patients can receive help before their condition reaches crisis point.
Ministers said the programme represented the largest redesign of mental health services in a generation. The Government said demand has risen sharply, particularly among children and young people, and that the new model is intended to reduce long waits, improve access close to home and ease pressure on busy hospital emergency departments.