Beyond new centres: we need a system that puts young people first

New mental health centres are a good start. Now let’s build a system that centres all young people.

This week the new Burnham Government announced up to 100 new NHS mental health centres to open across England, designed to provide accessible walk-in support in community.

This is the first of what we expect to be several major announcements ahead of the Mental Health Strategy and October Budget.

Like many in the sector, YoungMinds welcomes the commitment to invest in community mental health services.

As the Government prepares to open the first of the new centres this autumn and publish the Mental Health Strategy, there are four things it must keep front of mind.

A mixed group of six young people standing in front of a black metal fence in a park playground.

Centres should be rooted in community, not just placed there

Only this will achieve the Prime Minister’s goal to ‘help people live well’. In practice, this means that where centres provide support for children and young people, they must be included in the service design and evaluation processes. Co-designed services are more likely to be responsive to young people’s needs. This will lead to better experiences and improved outcomes.

Equitable access must be at the heart of service design

Five young people standing and looking at the camera with trees in the background.

Young people tell us that if you’re Black or racially minoritised, services feel harder to access and harder to trust.

Black and racially minoritised young people are ten times more likely to be referred to NHS Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services via social services and youth justice teams than through the GP or other voluntary routes, compared with white British children ¹.

The new NHS mental health centres must tackle this head on by:

Engaging with faith-based leaders, cultural groups and grassroots organisations to shape services around local community needs.
Ensuring services provide culturally responsive, relationship-centred support for under-served young people.
Building staff capability to deliver trauma-informed care that recognises and respects young people’s cultural identity and heritage.

Good mental health starts long before young people need support

The forthcoming Mental Health Strategy intends to look at the role of schools, local government and the voluntary sector in supporting good mental health.

YoungMind’s hopes this includes a genuine effort to embed wellbeing into every aspect of school life, whether that’s culture, curriculum, or staff. This should be done through inclusive behaviour practices and a stronger mental health support team model, with protected capacity to support staff to recognise and respond to mental health in schools.

Don't lose sight of the investment needed

At a time when there are record waiting lists and wait times, the addition of new local support and specialist crisis care outside of A&E is crucial. But the broader changes in the system can’t be delivered without upfront investment to address the historic shortfalls and ensure appropriate workforce capacity. Investment in children and young people’s mental health services should remain a priority in the October budget.

For more of what we hope to see reflected in further announcements and the October budget, take a look at a roadmap to transform children and young peoples mental health by 2035 below. This was developed in partnership with the Centre for Mental Health, The Centre for Young Lives, and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition.

Read the Future Minds roadmap

For more information or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, please contact the YoungMinds press office on 0203 861 2072 or email press@youngminds.org.uk.

[1] NHS Race & Health Observatory, 2022