The Government has announced £4.92m new funding to expand mental health hubs into ‘early support hubs’ for children and young people.
The drop-in hubs will not be accessed via a referral by a doctor or school and will be intended for those who may not meet the threshold to receive NHS support, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said today (25 October).
Currently, around 60 mental health hubs are operating across the country, with the new funding to be allocated to 10 of them to expand their offering to those aged between 11 and 25 years.
The hubs will also offer advice on wider issues which may affect a young person’s mental health, including sexual health, exam worries, financial concerns and drugs and alcohol.
The Government will evaluate how the funding had benefitted local young people.
The new funding is separate and in addition to the £2.3bn funding for mental health being used to expand and transform services.
In May, a third of the 41 mental health hubs set up to support NHS staff were reported to have already closed, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
