This World Mental Health Day, The NHS is highlighting how its services can help those facing mental health struggles.
The event falls on October 10 every year, raising awareness and promoting advocacy against stigma around mental health issues.
NHS teams and partners across the South East are publicising how support that brings services together around people’s needs are helping them address the clinical, practical and social factors affecting their mental health.
From specialist advice on housing, debt and employment during a hospital stay to coordinated neighbourhood care and earlier support for children and young people, local partnerships across the region are improving access, reducing pressure on services and helping people rebuild their lives.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Healthcare and Citizens Advice Winchester District have developed a pioneering partnership that embeds dedicated Citizens Advice caseworkers within mental health ward teams.
Working alongside clinical colleagues, they help inpatients tackle social pressures such as housing, money, employment and legal problems – issues which can contribute to a hospital admission but fall outside the expertise of clinical staff.
The partnership was created after teams recognised that some people were staying in hospital longer than clinically necessary, while others were being readmitted because the underlying pressures affecting their mental health had not been resolved.
By building trusted relationships and addressing these practical concerns during an admission, caseworkers can give people greater hope and help them move towards a more stable life after discharge.
One former patent said: “My life was taken away from me through mental ill-health. Having this support has been rehabilitating, I would be homeless on the streets without it but now I am going for interviews for fulltime jobs. These guys have saved my life.”
In Maidstone, a woman in her 60’s experienced a serious decline in her mental health after years of grief, trauma and physical illness.
Following the death of a child, a period of poor health and growing pressure at work, she reached a point where she could no longer sleep or function as normal.
When she contacted her GP surgery, she was quickly referred to a neighbourhood-based team bringing together her GP, a Mental Health Care Coordinator and other professionals.
Rather than receiving fragmented support, she had a consistent point of contact and a coordinated plan that combined practical lifestyle changes, talking therapies and medication.
As her anxiety eased, she began to regain her confidence and reconnect with other people.
The approach enabled professionals to understand her full story, respond early and provide joined-up care that reflected how grief, trauma, physical health and life circumstances were affecting her mental wellbeing.
She said: “My mental health didn’t exist on its own. It was tied to grief, trauma, physical illness and what was happening in my life. Instead of being left to figure it out alone, people noticed, stepped in early and stayed with me. I feel capable again – it feels like me coming back.”
Also, an award winning partnership involving organisations across West Kent is bringing together primary care, mental health services, social care, education and the voluntary sector so young people can access support earlier.
At the centre of the approach is a dedicated multidisciplinary team (MDT) based in Maidstone Central Primary Care Network, supporting young people who may not meet the threshold for specialist services but regularly attend primary care or emergency departments.
By sharing expertise and coordinating care across organisations, the team has helped deliver a 39% reduction in GP attendances and a 61.5% reduction in emergency department visits, alongside reported improvements in young people’s wellbeing, since it started in September 2024.
The parent of one patient said: “I believe my daughter would be really struggling, more than she does, with her mental health, school and day to day life had we not been in contact with them (The MDT), We are so grateful for all of the help and support”
NHS England South East’s Chief Medical Officer, Daghni Rajasingam said: “These examples show what can happen when NHS teams and local partners work together around each person’s needs.
“By supporting people with practical and social pressures as well as their health needs, and offering help earlier, we can help them feel more stable and confident, improve their wellbeing and avoid reaching crisis point or needing hospital care.”
World Mental Health Day takes place every year on 10 October, to raise global awareness about mental health, fight social stigma, and improve access to support and care.
