Andy Burnham has pledged 159 new NHS mental health centres and emergency departments, a move that marks a significant step towards a goal prime ministers have promised for years: putting mental and physical health on the same footing.
New walk-in centres in high street locations
A raft of new mental health centres are to open in libraries, banks and other high street locations across England, with the aim of getting people support earlier and closer to home.
Just as ignoring a cold can lead to pneumonia and a hospital bed, and many minor conditions treatable by a GP can turn into lifelong chronic conditions if neglected, many mental health problems start as relatively minor complaints. These new walk-in centres are designed to help with such issues.
Reducing strain on emergency services
The initiative is expected to take the strain off hospital NHS mental health services. Tackling problems before they grow into crises should also ease pressure on police and other emergency services.
It is also welcomed that Mr Burnham recognises younger people are in a wider epidemic of mental health problems, rather than leaning into the myth of a “snowflake generation”.
Child food poverty concerns
In a separate issue, new research finds that nearly a quarter of families with a toddler experience food poverty. The Mirror has long campaigned for free school meals to be made universal, arguing that children learn more when they're fed well. Anything that can be done to make life easier for struggling families should be high on the new PM's agenda.
Researchers also want free meals to be made available to pre-school children living in poverty. Children can't control their circumstances, and it's manifestly unfair that some will have a better start to life than others for the cost of a meal.
