Mental health services boosted by £150 million government funding

Monday 23 Jan 2023 @ 12:12
NHS England

Also published by:: Department of Health and Social Care

£150 million will be used to build 150 new facilities to support mental health urgent and emergency care services

Anyone experiencing a mental health emergency will benefit from more tailored emergency care and support in the community through specialised mental health ambulances, more crisis services, and improved health-based places of safety.

A £150 million investment up to April 2025 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.

Patients presenting with mental health problems are twice as likely to spend 12 hours or more in emergency departments than other patients. While some of these patients will be in A&E for urgent medical care, we know that often they would be better treated elsewhere.

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.

In the middle of a challenging winter, the government is doing everything it can to ease the pressure on the NHS, particularly A&E, by making sure people are receiving the care they need in the most appropriate setting.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

People in mental health crisis deserve compassionate care in a safe and appropriate setting. Too often, they end up in A&E when they should be receiving specialist treatment elsewhere.

This important funding will make sure they get the help they need, while easing pressures on emergency departments and freeing up staff time – which is a huge priority for the government this winter.

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.

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.

With planned projects located across the country, the 150 schemes support the wider government commitment to level up mental health and wellbeing across the country – including some of the most deprived local authority areas in England.

Programmes will also focus on preventative measures, including improvement of sanctuary spaces, to improve mental wellbeing, and community mental health facilities that will work to help people before reaching crisis point.

This builds on our existing plans to improve mental health services. We are investing at least £2.3 billion of additional funding a year by April 2024 to expand and transform mental health services in England so that two million more people will be able to get the mental health support they need.

Every area now has in place 24/7 NHS open access urgent mental health helplines; the helplines are currently taking around 200,000 calls per month, with only 1 to 2% reported as being directed to 999 or A&E. In the community, NHS Mental Health Support Teams are being rolled out in schools and colleges, offering early mental health help to children and young people, we are on target to reach 35% of pupils by the end of this year.

This comes as the government has committed to increase mental health spend to 8.9% of all NHS funding.

NHS mental health director Claire Murdoch said:

Despite the disruption caused by the pandemic the NHS is on track to deliver its Long Term Plan commitment to boost mental health spending by £2.3 billion a year, enabling around 4.5 million adults and over 700,000 young people to access mental health services.

As well as expanding capacity to meet record demand, the NHS is transforming mental health services to help people get more appropriate care when they contact services and this investment will see specialist mental health ambulances deployed, new crisis cafes opened, and existing facilities modernised, to deliver urgent and emergency mental health care to more people who need it.

So as ever anybody in need of help should not hesitate in contacting the NHS so they can get the care they need.

Olly Parker, Head of External Affairs at YoungMinds said:

We welcome further investment in the ways young people can access support and hope that this goes some way to ensuring that there are appropriate settings for those experiencing a mental health crisis.

Ultimately, we want to prevent young people reaching crisis in the first place and for there to be better access to early support. We therefore look forward to the government publishing its promised long-term plan for mental health, and for it to have young people at its heart.

Dr Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said:

It’s good to see the renewed commitment of £150 million Government funding into mental health services. Having reached record levels of referrals in the past year, the pressures on crisis care is immense. We welcome the investment to build and improve 150 new services which will support those most in need, in some of the most deprived communities.

It’s clear more must be done to reach people as early and as quickly as possible. The concept of tailored emergency care is positive, and we’re pleased to see the investment of 100 new specialist mental health ambulances, staffed by both physical and mental healthcare professionals.

This will go some way in easing system pressures, however, we must remember that times are hard for everyone, with the cost-of-living crisis adding to this, demand for mental health services will continue to rise.

Background

As announced today by Minister Maria Caulfield, the government’s mental health spend will increase in the coming financial year, we expect this to account for 8.92% of total recurrent spend.
The government is investing £150 million of capital in NHS mental health crisis response and urgent and emergency care services up to April 2025. This includes £7 million for the procurement of specialised mental health ambulances, with the remaining £143 million being used to provide new and improve existing mental health crisis response infrastructure. This includes schemes such as crisis cafes, crisis houses and crisis hubs. Step-down services, mental health urgent assessment and care centres, crisis line upgrades and improvements to health-based places of safety and emergency department spaces are also being funded.
Crisis cafes and similar (e.g. safe havens, sanctuaries) provide a safe and supportive space for people nearing or experiencing mental health crisis. They can act as an alternative to A&E, providing support to people in the community. Crisis houses provide more intensive, but still community-based support, including allowing for overnight stays for people experiencing mental health crisis.

Channel website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/

Original article link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mental-health-services-boosted-by-150-million-government-funding

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Nearly 4 million women will be offered HPV self-testing kits if they have not attended cervical screening appointments following invitations from the NHS in England.

The NHS is starting to roll out the new self-testing kits from today to encourage more women to complete their potentially lifesaving screening to detect human papillomavirus (HPV), which can increase the risk of cervical cancer.

England’s leading women’s health doctor described the move as a “gamechanger” given that around a third of those eligible aren’t up to date with their cervical screening, and this test provides a more “discreet and convenient option” for them.

The self-testing kit contains a swab, similar to a long cotton bud, which is used to collect a sample from the vagina. The sample is then posted back to the NHS for free, where it is checked for high-risk HPV.

If high-risk HPV is found, individuals will be invited to book a follow-up cervical screening appointment at their GP surgery or sexual health clinic, where a nurse or doctor will take a small sample from the cervix to check for cell changes.

Cervical screening helps prevent cervical cancer by checking for high-risk types of HPV. It is a common virus that can cause changes to cells in the cervix. These changes can usually be treated before cancer develops.

Women who are eligible will start receiving invitations today via the NHS App, text message, email or letter, and once invited they will be able to order a free kit through the NHS App or their NHS online account.

This is the next major step the NHS is taking in its pledge to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, by making it as easy as possible for people to get the lifesaving HPV vaccination and increasing cervical screening attendance.

Dr Sue Mann, National Clinical Director for Women’s Health at NHS England, said: “Screening saves thousands of lives each year by preventing cancers and catching them earlier, but only around two-thirds of women are attending cervical screening appointments when invited by the NHS.

“Offering millions of women an alternative test they can do from the comfort of their own homes will be a gamechanger – making it easier than ever for them to get tested for HPV.

“There are lots of reasons that may stop women from getting their cervical screening – embarrassment, lack of time, or worries about discomfort – and these kits provide a discreet and convenient option we hope will encourage more women to take up the life-saving test.

“So, if you’re invited to take part, please order a test – it’s a simple swab you can do at home in minutes.”

Cervical screening appointments with a clinician remain the best way to help prevent cervical cancer, but HPV self-testing is being introduced by the NHS as an additional choice for people who have not taken up previous invitations.

HPV self-testing is an invitation-only offer and is being rolled out in phases across England as part of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, starting with those aged between 30 and 65, who have not attended cervical screening following previous invitations.

The national rollout comes on the back of the YouScreen trial run by North London cancer alliances in collaboration with NHS England and King’s College London in 2021, which found offering self-testing kits to under-screened women at their GP practice or at home could boost the numbers screened in England by about 400,000 each year.

The UK National Screening Committee used evidence from this trial in its recommendation to roll this out wider.

The latest figures show that 68.8% of eligible women were up to date with their cervical screening – below the NHS England target of 80%. This means around 4 million women in England are not up to date with their routine check-up.

Women aged 24-64 are invited for cervical screening by the NHS every five years, or more frequently if HPV is detected.

Anyone who has been invited for cervical screening can still book an appointment at any time, even if the invitation was sent months or years ago.

It is still important to attend cervical screening appointments if you have been vaccinated against HPV as the vaccine does not provide protection from all types of HPV, so there is a still a small chance of getting cervical cancer.

People who routinely attend for a cervical screening test with a clinician at their GP practice or sexual health clinic should continue to book their appointments as normal.

Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Cervical cancer is preventable – but that’s why we want to make it as easy and convenient as possible for women to keep up with their screening.

“These free self-testing kits will be offered to four million women who are currently behind on their screening to make it easier for as many women as possible to keep themselves healthy and safe.

“This is the future NHS we are building – there for all of us when we need it, and acting as early as possible to stop preventable deaths.”

Cancer Research UK’s Chief Executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: “Cervical screening is a powerful tool that saves lives – it can prevent cervical cancer or spot it at an earlier stage when treatment is more likely to be successful.

“While it’s best for cervical screening to be done by a nurse or doctor, there are barriers that make it challenging for some people to attend. At-home HPV self-testing kits will help more people take part in a way that works for them.

“If people receive their cervical screening or self-testing kit invitation, please consider taking up the offer and encourage loved ones to do the same. Beating cervical cancer means beating it for everyone, and this move brings us closer to that goal.”

Athena Lamnisos, Chief Executive Officer at The Eve Appeal, said: “There are many reasons why those eligible for cervical screening don’t attend.

“Challenges around the type of test it is, limited awareness around HPV and its role in cancer development, as well as practical barriers such as problems around booking and attending an appointment, stop many from going.

“Cervical screening is designed to prevent cervical cancer rather than respond to symptoms, attending a clinic requires people to actively prioritise an appointment among the many competing demands of everyday life.

“Self-testing which can be done at home will be a step-change for many. We have the incredible opportunity to see the back of cervical cancer. How brilliant would that be? But to achieve this, we need to support everyone eligible to attend screening.

“At Eve we welcome the rollout of this programme and its focus on the audiences who need it most in the first stage of the screening pathway. Looking to the future, we hope that self-testing will provide the under-screened and never screened with a new option to help address some of the key barriers.

“This is not a replacement for clinician screening, and we will continue to work with and support those attending their traditional cervical screening, to help make their appointments more comfortable and accessible.

“The NHS has set a 2040 target for eliminating cervical cancer. We hope that rolling out self-testing will help us reach it.”

Dawn Bryant, 62, from Hertfordshire, had cancerous cells found early thanks to NHS cervical screening and feels extremely lucky that it was detected and treated before the cancer progressed any further.

She says cervical screening may have saved her life and is encouraging other women who haven’t had theirs yet or have put it off, to book an appointment or do the at-home HPV test if invited.

“My nan died of cervical cancer when I was only 11 so I know how difficult it can be and how important cervical screening is.

“A screening test when I was 32 found I had severe high-grade cell changes, and after further testing I was told it was cancer.

“I am so lucky it was found at an early stage and could be easily treated. I had some surgery to remove the cells, but I didn’t have to have chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or anything. It was a very scary time, but who knows what would have happened if I’d delayed having the test.

“Since then, I have been regularly monitored, and had many tests and colposcopies, and although they can be a bit uncomfortable, I would not think twice about having them done again.

“I know lots of women who have put off having screening, and sadly, some who have been diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer after putting it off for years.

“It is so important women go for these check-ups or do the home-testing kit if invited. It doesn’t take very long and if you’re worried or have questions, the staff are excellent and will talk to you and help answer any fears you’ve got.”

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