Mental health is increasingly recognised as a critical part of wellbeing and in response to demand, England's National Health Service (NHS) is set to open a network of mental health crisis centres across the country to relieve the pressure on overcrowded hospital accident and emergency services.

Ten NHS trusts – bodies overseeing the funding and operations of medical provision – have opened dedicated units for mental health emergencies as part of a pilot scheme, which is expected to be expanded nationally to dozens of locations.

People experiecing mental health emergencies, such as feeling suicidal or experiencing symptoms such as psychosis or mania will be able to walk in or be referred by their general practitioner and the police.

The units will be staffed by specialist medics and the aim is to deliver appropriate care in a calm environment, avoiding long waits in existing accident and emergency departments.

In an interview with the Times newspaper, NHS England chief, Sir Jim Mackey, hailed the new centres as a “pioneering new model of care,” where people can “get the right support in the right setting.”

The UK government is investing £26 million (US$35 million, €31 million) in the new centres and is due to provide more details on the scheme’s expansion, when it publishes its 10-year plan for the NHS later this year.

Recent reports have shown that at least 5,620 people a year who are suffering from mental health crises wait more than 12 hours for a hospital bed after a decision has been made to admit them – up from 1,000 in 2019.

The number of people waiting 12 hours or more, in general, in accident and emergency departments after a decision to admit them was made was recently found to be at its highest since modern records began, reaching 60,000 in January – the equivalent of 11 per cent of emergency admissions.

Mental health interventions around the world

Other countries are also looking to improve their mental health care provision, especially in the wake of the World Health Organisation’s research in 2022, which found the pandemic triggered a 25 per cent increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide.

In 2023, the European Commission announced €1.23 billion (US$140 billion, £1.03 billion) in EU funding to put mental health on a par with physical health. The EU said the cost of inaction on mental health prevention and care amounts to €600,000 billion (US$680,967, £503,109) every year.

Its focus is on providing access to adequate and effective prevention, high quality and affordable treatment and 'care plus' schemes dedicated to reintegrating people into society after recovery.

Specific countries also have their own mental health initiatives. Germany has more than 57,000 psychiatric beds available to adults in German hospitals and clinics – one of the highest numbers in the world allocated to mental health.

Sweden first enacted a mental health strategy in 2016 and it was extended in January until 2034. The country will increase its investments in increased accessibility to child and adolescent psychiatry and develop its primary healthcare services – among other initiatives.

Denmark also has a 10-year plan to improve the nation’s mental health, funded by an additional 4 billion DKK annually. Mental health conditions cost the nation 110 billion DKK (€15 billion, US$17 billion, £12 billion) annually and the plan seeks to ease that burden by investing in the digitisation of healthcare, prioritising early intervention and optimising cooperation between different healthcare providers.