Government announces plans to put ‘digital front doors' on mental health care
Mental health patients will be able to self-refer for talking therapies using the NHS App under new plans.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the Government is 'putting digital front doors on mental health services for patients up and down the country'.
The Government also confirmed that 85 new mental health emergency departments will be built across England.
It comes as new figures suggest mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression are on the rise in England.
Plans to build dedicated emergency departments for mental health patients were announced last month.
The 85 units will be funded by £120 million secured in the Spending Review, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, they will be staffed by specialist nurses and doctors.
Patients who need help will be able to walk in, or will be able to be referred by their GP.
Elsewhere, patients will be offered better access to mental health support through the NHS App, including being able to self-refer for talking therapies without the need to see their family doctor.
The measures form part of the Government's 10 Year Plan and could also pave the way for AI-driven virtual support, according to the Department.
Mr Streeting said: 'Not getting the right support for your mental health isn't just debilitating, it can hit a painful pause button on your life – stopping you working, enjoying time with family and friends, or living day-to-day life.
'Patients have faced the crisis of access to mental health services for far too long, and this Government is determined to change that through our Plan for Change to rebuild the NHS.
'That's why we're putting digital front doors on mental health services for patients up and down the country and harnessing technology to provide 24-hour care. And we're creating more opportunities for support not just through the NHS App but through care in your community too.
'We are already over halfway towards our target of recruiting 8,500 extra mental health workers, and through our upcoming 10 Year Health Plan we will get more people back to health and back to work.'
It comes as the latest Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey suggested more than one in five people aged 16 to 74 had reported so-called 'common mental health conditions'.
These include generalised anxiety disorder, depressive episodes, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder.
These problems were most common among young people, with more than a quarter of those aged 16 to 24 reporting having any of these conditions, up from 17.5% in 2007.
There was also a sharp increase in the number of women aged 16 to 24 reporting the conditions, with 36.1% saying they had any one of the issues listed, up from 28.2% in 2014 and 22.2% in 2007.
Meanwhile, the survey found the number of 16 to 74-year-olds with common mental health conditions who reported having treatment rose from 39.4% in 2014 to 47.7% in 2023/24.
Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: 'Digital technologies can make it easier for people with mental illness to access care.
'While people have long been able to self-refer to talking therapies, providing access through the NHS App will make this more accessible.
'There are many evidence-based digital interventions which can support people with mental ill-health; however, a lack of investment has stalled their progress.
'The Government must also invest in the necessary technological infrastructure for mental health organisations and their staff, to allow access to digital interventions.'
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