A 24/7 community hub offering mental health support is set to open in Whitehaven later this year.
The Copeland area has the highest suicide rate in England, with 20 people per 100,000 dying by suicide in 2020-22 – double the national rate. Referrals to local mental health services have trebled since 2017.
This hub will bring together a range of services and staff as one team, under one roof. People who are struggling with their mental health will be able to get specialist, intensive support.
Most radically, the hub will offer an alternative to people needing to be admitted to hospital, by providing four short-stay beds for people who need to be supported at the hub for that little bit longer.
It will also work closely with existing community support, such as the Whitehaven Family Hub.
It is being funded by NHS England as part of a pilot to provide more mental health support in local communities.
It will be provided by a group of local organisations including Cumbria Health; Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW); Everyturn Mental Health; Home Group; iCan Wellbeing Group CIO; and The WELL Communities CIC.
The group said: “This investment will be life-changing for people in Whitehaven and the surrounding area. It will allow us to transform the way mental health care is provided locally.
“A 24/7 support hub in the town centre will bring together specialist health, social care and community services, so people can get the right help, at the right time.
“We have worked with local people and organisations to get the right people around the table to develop this new service, and we are excited to begin the work to make it a reality, together.”
The hub will also offer advice on issues which often affect people’s mental health, like housing, money and employment. And there will be support for the families and carers of people who are unwell.
The new centre in Whitehaven will be one of six pilots across the country, initially funded for two years by NHS England. The others will be in Sheffield, York, Birmingham, and Tower Hamlets and Lewisham in London.
Preparations are underway for the hub to open later this year.
