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‘This is direct’: positive early feedback from pilot community mental health hub in Cumbria

By · Via The Guardian Politics · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Modeled after Italy's 1980s Trieste approach, Hope Haven addresses severe regional challenges in an isolated coastal town where the suicide rate reaches nearly double the national average. Nearly half of the approximately 3,000 individuals who engaged with the hub between March and July were accessing NHS mental health support for the first time. The facility is one of six initial pilot sites established across England to test preventive, walk-in care models. A broader national expansion backed by £343 million will introduce 100 similar hubs starting this autumn.

Key points

  • The walk-in pilot model successfully reaches new patients before acute hospital admission…: The walk-in pilot model successfully reaches new patients before acute hospital admission becomes necessary.
  • A dedicated £343 million investment will fund the rollout of an additional 100 community…: A dedicated £343 million investment will fund the rollout of an additional 100 community mental health hubs across England.
  • Formal evaluations of Hope Haven and five other pilot sites will take place later this ye…: Formal evaluations of Hope Haven and five other pilot sites will take place later this year to guide the national strategy.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

The night Tamara first walked through the doors of Hope Haven, a new community mental health hub in the heart of Whitehaven, she was afraid. “Terrified, actually,” she says. “Like, my life was falling apart. I didn’t know how to stop it from hurting.”

The 22-year-old, who works in children’s transport, had been in and out of therapy and counselling since she was 14, after being abused by an acquaintance as a child. After a lengthy legal process her abuser was sentenced, but the “mental challenge” of dealing with what had happened to her was not over.

“I was having a really hard time at home, and my best friend told me that I could go and stay with her for a bit, but I needed to ask for help first, so she dropped me off here at like 11 o’clock at night,” she says.

That night was a turning point: Tamara was seen immediately by a member of staff and offered an appointment for the next day. She believes that if she hadn’t been offered help at Hope Haven,…

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