Northampton: Prime minister praises NHS trust's mental health work

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has praised an NHS trust's mental health crisis and community services as "trailblazing" on a visit to one of its hospitals.

Mr Sunak was at the Berrywood Hospital in Northampton to announce £150m of funding for UK mental health provision.

He met with representatives from the Northamptonshire Health NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) to discuss mental health facilities and support.

He said its mental health response hub had put it "ahead of the curve".

Berrywood provides inpatient mental health services for adults, an assessment and treatment unit for people with learning disabilities, and a low secure unit.

Speaking at the Berrywood Drive site, Mr Sunak said: "It's really important that those people who are struggling with mental health challenges get the treatment they need as quickly as possible and as effectively and compassionately as possible.

"We will provide more mental health ambulances, more crisis centres that are based in communities, [and] more mental health professionals engaged with 111 [the NHS advice phone service]."

The prime minister identified the trust's crisis cafes, crisis houses, mental health ambulances and response hub as examples of innovation.

He said the introduction of the hub, which had been in the planning for a year before it became a national requirement, was an example of innovative work, as was ongoing work to develop a new mental health ambulance service for the county.

NHFT managing director and deputy chief executive, David Maher, said: "We have been focused on developing our crisis pathway over many years, working closely with our partners across the health and care system.

"Today's visit was recognition of the difference these services have made, as well as reflecting on the growing challenges and pressures on mental health services."

Director of mental health services at the trust, Anne Rackham, said: "Our crisis services have been developed based on the lived experience of service users and carers over many years.

"The opportunity for them to speak directly to the prime minister, about the benefits of the crisis houses and other crisis services, allowed us to demonstrate the value these services bring."

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