Mental Health Services: Shropshire
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for mental health treatment in (a) Shropshire, (b) Telford and (c) Wrekin.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
Long waits for mental health services are being driven by increasing demand in a system in desperate need of change, including in Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin.
The Government is piloting innovative models of care in the community, including six neighbourhood adult mental health centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and which bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care.
NHS England Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes it clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity.
We are also improving data quality so we can support providers to understand demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting times metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication to help services to target the longest waits.
Our 10-Year Health Plan will inform the future vision and delivery plan for mental health services in England. Earlier intervention remains a key focus of the plan, with the aim of reducing pressure on mental health services.
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