The NHS in South West London has launched a new Mental Health Strategy setting out the ways it will improve and support the mental health of everyone who lives, work or studies in Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth over the next five years.
The Strategy, which will be delivered by the NHS South West London Integrated Care Board (ICB) together with the two local mental health NHS trusts, South West London and St George’s and South London and Maudsley, is the first ICB-wide strategy of its kind in London.
The vision is to make South West London the best place to live for emotional wellbeing, with everyone having access to high quality, accessible wellbeing and mental health services.
Demand for mental health services has increased in recent years. Nationally, there has been a rise in the percentage of children identified as having a probable mental health disorder from 11.6% in 2017 to 17.4% in 2021 – with Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) the fastest growing speciality.
Our Strategy will help us to ensure we can provide outstanding care and support to everyone in our diverse communities who needs it.
NHS South West London ICB Chief Executive Officer Sarah Blow
This demand is being felt in South West London, with a higher proportion of under-18s accessing community mental health services compared to anywhere else in the capital.
The Strategy will focus on going further and faster for children and young people, whilst also increasing equity of access, experience and outcomes for all South West Londoners and tackling issues earlier to prevent mental-ill health.
In the first year of the Strategy, the focus will be on children and young people and embedding transformation of community services for adults with serious mental illness.
Sarah Blow, Chief Executive Officer of NHS South West London ICB, said: “We know there is a real need to support people at an early stage before mental health problems escalate. Equally, we know that the pandemic and cost of living crisis are among the many things having an impact on wellbeing. This Strategy will help us to focus on supporting those at risk of developing a mental health condition, both now and in the coming months and years.
“Our Strategy will help us to ensure we can provide outstanding care and support to everyone in our diverse communities who needs it.”
Vanessa Ford, Mental Health ICB representative and Chief Executive of South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, said: “Putting our communities and the people we serve first, is at the heart of everything we do. We want to ensure that anyone who is at risk of developing a mental health condition can receive help early, in a way that works for them, provided with dignity and respect.
“Following extensive engagement with our communities, we have developed a Strategy that is focused on prevention and early support and improving care for children and young people specifically. This is an extremely important piece of work and together with our partners, we are committed to tackling health inequalities and delivering inclusive, effective services that are accessible and meet the needs of our diverse communities.”
The mental health strategy has several key aims:
- Prevent mental illness and provide early support for recovery as we know this promotes good recovery and reduces the burden of ill-health.
- Increase equity of access, experience and outcomes for all South West Londoners – reducing unwarranted variation and ensuring a fair and sustainable allocation of resources.
- Better support and equip our children and young people and those that support them to manage their mental health and emotional wellbeing in the future.
- Design a new model for the mental health workforce including voluntary and community sector and peer support to tackle mental health recruitment and retention issues.
- Expand bio-psycho-social care to address the mortality gap and the opportunity to increase years of quality life.
- Co-produce delivery of this strategy with service users and residents in South West London, putting partnership with those who use services and those in our communities at the heart of everything we do.
Service users, carers, local stakeholders and partners will be invited to engage and participate in the delivery of the Mental Health Strategy later this year.
Read our mental health strategy on our website.
