Last Updated on August 17, 2026
Government has announced a major expansion of community mental health support across England, with up to 159 new NHS mental health centres.
Backed by a £343m investment, the rollout includes:
- 100 new community mental health centres, offering walk-in support without a referral and without a months-long wait.
- 59 dedicated mental health emergency departments giving people in crisis specialist care in a place designed for them.
According to Government, demand for mental health services has risen sharply, particularly among children and young people, with around one in five people experiencing a common mental health condition each year.
The new centres will aim to make it easier for people to get the right help the first time they ask for it, by bringing mental health and specialist teams together under one roof - working alongside GPs, councils, the voluntary sector and families, with direct links into housing and employment support.
The first sites open from autumn this year, with further facilities following from March 2027. Some of the community hubs will be newly built facilities, while others will be in libraries, banks and other community or high-street locations to move care closer to where people live, improving access. They will all be located in the neighbourhoods they serve and designed as welcoming settings with a non-clinical appearance, Government highlights.
Alongside this, 59 new mental health emergency departments will aim to provide same-day specialist support for people experiencing a crisis who are medically fit and do not need treatment in A&E.
Located with emergency departments and working closely with ambulance and police services, they will aim to provide a calm, therapeutic environment where people can be assessed quickly and connected to the right ongoing care, whether that is inpatient treatment, support at home or community services. The rollout will more than double the number of dedicated emergency departments in England, taking the total to 82.
Government expresses that the announcement supports its mission to shift care from crisis to prevention, helping people get support earlier and closer to home. It forms part of the forthcoming mental health strategy, which will look beyond the NHS to the role of schools, employers, local government and the voluntary sector in supporting good mental health.
The mental health strategy will be informed by the upcoming recommendations from Professor Peter Fonagy’s independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism.
Commenting on the announcement, Health and Social Care Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said, 'Too many people are only getting mental health support when they reach crisis point, after struggling for far too long to get the help they need.
'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. And when someone does need urgent help, new mental health emergency departments will be able to make sure they are seen quickly by specialist teams in the right setting.
'This is how we can turn the tide on mental ill health - preventing more people from reaching crisis, cutting waits for care and building an NHS which is there for everyone when they need it.'
Dr Nick Broughton, National Priority Programme Director for Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental Conditions, said, 'Across the country, NHS teams are already working to provide mental health support closer to where people live, alongside specialist care for those who need more urgent help.
'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.'
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 expansion of neighbourhood mental health centres is a vital step towards making this a reality, building on the promising results of existing pilot sites.
'By bringing together treatment and wider support services under one roof, these centres can transform experiences of care, helping people to access support earlier and preventing them from reaching crisis point.'
For the latest information relating to this announcement and future updates, visit the Department of Health and Social Care's website.
In other news, new Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) research findings published today explore how inequities shape social care experiences.