The Health and Social Care Committee has announced a new inquiry into the state of community mental health services for adults with severe mental illnesses. The inquiry, launched on 17th December 2024, aims to assess patient experiences, the effectiveness of current services, and ways to improve access and quality.
The inquiry will evaluate how well these services are meeting the needs of individuals with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression. It will also review the Community Mental Health Framework, introduced in 2019, which seeks to replace fragmented care models with more integrated, holistic approaches.
"For people who have severe and enduring mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and severe depression, community mental health services are a lifeline. But far too often they are ignored. "We want to examine what is missing from those services, who has access to high-quality support and who is falling through gaps, and where there are examples of best practice that we can learn from. We know that community mental health care providers are under immense pressure, and in this inquiry, we want to look at the interventions that would best enable delivery of high-quality services."
Additionally, the inquiry will explore how community mental health services work with social care, the third sector, and local governments to address broader factors impacting mental health, such as housing and employment.
Find more details here.
Related Conference: Improving the Management of Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Misuse
Date: Thursday 8th May 2025 | Location: Virtual, Online
This conference focuses on improving the management and outcomes of people with co-occurring mental health and substance misuse conditions.
