159 New NHS Mental Health Facilities To Open Across England

New community mental health centres and dedicated emergency departments aim to help people access support earlier, closer to home and before they reach crisis point.

Expanding access to mental health support

The NHS is set to open 159 new mental health facilities across England, backed by £343 million in funding. The plans, announced on 6 August, represent the biggest redesign of mental health services in a generation.

The rollout includes 100 new community mental health centres, offering open-access support without the need for a referral, alongside 59 dedicated mental health emergency departments providing specialist care for people experiencing a crisis.

The first facilities are expected to open from autumn 2026, with further sites following from March 2027.

The announcement comes as demand for mental health services continues to rise, particularly among children and young people. Around one in five people experience a common mental health condition each year, yet many people struggle to access support until their difficulties become a crisis.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:

“Nobody should be left to struggle with their mental health alone. But every day, thousands of people are waiting months for help, then finding the only door open to them is a busy A&E.”

Bringing care closer to communities

The new community mental health centres are designed to make support easier to access and more closely connected to other services. Some will be purpose-built, while others will operate from existing community spaces such as libraries, banks and high-street locations.

The centres will bring mental health professionals together with GPs, councils, voluntary organisations and families. They will also have links to wider support, including housing and employment services.

Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

“These new community mental health centres will help people get support earlier and closer to home, making it easier to get the right care before problems escalate.”

Six community centres are already operating in England, with the new rollout intended to build on their work.

More specialist care for people in crisis

Alongside the community centres, 59 new mental health emergency departments will provide same-day specialist support for people experiencing a mental health crisis who are medically fit and do not require treatment in A&E.

The departments will be located alongside emergency services and work with ambulance and police teams. They are designed to provide a calmer, more therapeutic environment where people can be assessed quickly and connected with appropriate ongoing care.

The expansion will more than double the number of dedicated mental health emergency departments in England, taking the total to 82.

Dr Nick Broughton, National Priority Programme Director for Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental Conditions, said:

“The rollout of more community mental health centres and dedicated mental health emergency departments will build on this work, strengthening both early support in the community and care for people in crisis, while helping services work together more effectively around people’s needs.”

A shift from crisis to prevention

Mental health organisations have broadly welcomed the plans, while emphasising the importance of making services genuinely accessible and joined up.

Brian Dow, Deputy Chief Executive at Rethink Mental Illness, said:

“Everyone should be able to access mental health support in their local community, when and where they need it.”

The Mental Health Foundation also highlighted the importance of addressing wider factors that can affect mental health, including debt, unemployment and insecure housing.

Mark Rowland, Chief Executive at the Mental Health Foundation, said:

“By bringing together services in community hubs, the NHS and other services can take an earlier and holistic approach to mental health.”

For children and young people, Barnardo’s Chief Executive Lynn Perry stressed the importance of preventing problems from escalating.

“We urgently need to shift focus from response to prevention - helping children and young people get the support they need before reaching crisis point.”

The government says the new facilities form part of a wider shift towards prevention, with an upcoming mental health strategy expected to look beyond NHS services to the roles of schools, employers, local government and voluntary organisations.

If successfully implemented, the new approach could make it easier for people to access mental health support before they reach crisis, while providing more appropriate alternatives to A&E for those who need urgent help.