Latest news with #mentalhealthservices
CBC
05-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
New youth mental health centre planned for Fort McMurray
A youth mental health facility planned for construction in Fort McMurray hopes to provide services that many families in the community are currently forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to access. Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo councillors unanimously approved zoning for a new youth mental health facility in Fort McMurray's Gateway district last week. It will be operated by CASA Mental Health, a non-profit organization headquartered in Edmonton. "I think it's a great program," said Wood Buffalo's mayor Sandy Bowman. Other council members said the facility is sorely needed. "I've had a first-hand experience of a very close and dear young guy that had this challenge," said Coun. Funky Banjoko, "And I can attest to the fact that the family was tired of travelling to Edmonton to attend to him." The centre is planned to open in the fall of 2027, and will provide mental health services for youth aged 12 to 18. The new facility will include a day program for structured outpatient care, as well as a live-in treatment option. Once completed, it will have about 20 beds. Tiffany Bennett, whose 10-year-old son has complex mental health needs, told CBC this will be the first facility in Fort McMurray that will offer all, or at least most, of the services her son requires in one place. "A lot of times you're being sent to Edmonton because there isn't enough support here and then you're stuck struggling on like a two-year waiting list, sometimes even longer, depending on what your child needs," she said. "And this kind of opens up that barrier for us to be able to have an intervention here locally." She said the facility should reduce the need to travel to Edmonton for services. Facility likely to be in high demand Bennett is concerned that the facility might not be able to handle the demand. "With the overall growing population and with the high demand here in Fort McMurray, it's great they're going to be building that, but they may need more," she said. "And then, hopefully, they're open to expanding it based on what the community needs." Paula Colvin, director at CASA Mental Health, said they are aware of the demand the new facility will be facing. "I have no doubt we will face that," she said. "We have definitely made a decision that we're going to make sure we deliver the quality that these kids need. The quantity, we will manage the best we can," she said. "We know the need is high. We know that we can open our doors and deliver quality care to that many kids," Colvin said. Colvin said they may able to open up more spots in the future. "As we grow, and we hope community will see the value, then we'll be able to continue to fundraise and be able to support further spots for kids."
The Independent
27-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Government announces plans to put ‘digital front doors' on mental health care
Mental health patients will be able to self-refer for talking therapies using the NHS App under new plans. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the Government is 'putting digital front doors on mental health services for patients up and down the country'. The Government also confirmed that 85 new mental health emergency departments will be built across England. It comes as new figures suggest mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression are on the rise in England. Plans to build dedicated emergency departments for mental health patients were announced last month. The 85 units will be funded by £120 million secured in the Spending Review, the Department of Health and Social Care said. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, they will be staffed by specialist nurses and doctors. Patients who need help will be able to walk in, or will be able to be referred by their GP. Elsewhere, patients will be offered better access to mental health support through the NHS App, including being able to self-refer for talking therapies without the need to see their family doctor. The measures form part of the Government's 10 Year Plan and could also pave the way for AI-driven virtual support, according to the Department. Mr Streeting said: 'Not getting the right support for your mental health isn't just debilitating, it can hit a painful pause button on your life – stopping you working, enjoying time with family and friends, or living day-to-day life. 'Patients have faced the crisis of access to mental health services for far too long, and this Government is determined to change that through our Plan for Change to rebuild the NHS. 'That's why we're putting digital front doors on mental health services for patients up and down the country and harnessing technology to provide 24-hour care. And we're creating more opportunities for support not just through the NHS App but through care in your community too. 'We are already over halfway towards our target of recruiting 8,500 extra mental health workers, and through our upcoming 10 Year Health Plan we will get more people back to health and back to work.' It comes as the latest Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey suggested more than one in five people aged 16 to 74 had reported so-called 'common mental health conditions'. These include generalised anxiety disorder, depressive episodes, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder. These problems were most common among young people, with more than a quarter of those aged 16 to 24 reporting having any of these conditions, up from 17.5% in 2007. There was also a sharp increase in the number of women aged 16 to 24 reporting the conditions, with 36.1% saying they had any one of the issues listed, up from 28.2% in 2014 and 22.2% in 2007. Meanwhile, the survey found the number of 16 to 74-year-olds with common mental health conditions who reported having treatment rose from 39.4% in 2014 to 47.7% in 2023/24. Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: 'Digital technologies can make it easier for people with mental illness to access care. 'While people have long been able to self-refer to talking therapies, providing access through the NHS App will make this more accessible. 'There are many evidence-based digital interventions which can support people with mental ill-health; however, a lack of investment has stalled their progress. 'The Government must also invest in the necessary technological infrastructure for mental health organisations and their staff, to allow access to digital interventions.'
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Suicide-risk young daughter was refused NHS mental-health counselling because she goes to private school, mother claims
A suicidal young girl was refused NHS mental-health counselling because she attends private school, her mother claims. Because the youngster was being bullied at a state school, her despairing parents had only just moved her to a private school. But when she was finally assessed by mental-health services at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust after months on the waiting list, her mother claims she was told: 'If you can afford private school fees, you can afford private counselling.' The woman, from Somerset, who wishes to remain anonymous to avoid further prejudice towards her daughter, said: 'I was shocked and incensed. 'I was even told that if I had kept my daughter at a state school, they would have helped her. It's blatant discrimination.' The girl, now 12, had been diagnosed as autistic a year earlier, but her symptoms had become more severe and her mental health had deteriorated. She was referred to the Child and Adult Mental Health Service (CAMHS), which is part of the NHS, for help with her anxiety while she waited for treatment for her autism. Her mother said: 'I couldn't work any more because I was looking after my daughter and fighting to get her the care she needed. My husband works in construction. 'We are not rich. The only reason we moved her to a prep school is because we inherited a small amount of money, and we were so worried about her going downhill in her previous school.' She said that after being bullied, her daughter was at a 'very low ebb', adding: 'It culminated in her wanting to kill herself. 'I was even worried about leaving her alone upstairs.' After months on the CAMHS waiting list the woman and her daughter had a video-call assessment with a senior mental health practitioner. The mother said: 'We were desperate, but she spent ten minutes talking to my daughter and it was clear she wasn't interested. She displayed no empathy whatsoever. 'She said that if we could afford private school fees we could afford to pay for private counselling. It was such an arrogant attitude. 'She assumed we were rich – we aren't. We pay our taxes, and the NHS should provide for all children.' Her GP received a letter from the CAMHS practitioner written on the same day, that said: 'Based on the additional information gathered, we will be closing the referral to CAMHS.' The mother said: 'They failed our child. I remember her sneering tone.' Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said: 'There is no policy, formal or informal, to exclude children who attend private schools.' It follows last week's Mail on Sunday exclusive about an eight-year-old boy in Richmond, south-west London, who was refused an NHS assessment for a disabling joint condition because he went to a private school. Last night, Kingston and Richmond NHS Trust said it was investigating.
BBC News
04-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Culmore Fort: County Londonderry tower house transformed into community hub
The future of a formerly-at-risk 19th Century tower house has been secured with the successful transformation of Culmore Fort, in County Londonderry, has been restored for community is set to accommodate youth mental health services and host meetings for a variety of sports, heritage and cultural years of planning and more than £265,000 in funding, the historic site in County Londonderry was converted for public use by the Culmore Community Partnership (CCP).The CCP's chairman, Neil Doherty, said the restoration will be a vital resource for the whole community. Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's Mark Patterson Show, Mr Doherty said the Village Catalyst grant scheme — a collaborative initiative between the Department for Communities (DfC), the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) — helped make this vision a reality. Additional support was also provided by The Honourable Irish Society, the Garfield Weston Foundation, and the Pilgrim Trust, he said. 'Once a boat storage area' Mr Doherty told the programme that the fort at Culmore was held by the Crown until 1840 when it and its surrounding lands were sold to The Honourable Irish Society, who remain its owners."For about 50 years, nobody had lived in it as the fort had been leased by Lough Foyle Yacht Club and was primarily a boat storage area, and it was becoming a wee bit derelict," he said."We have been here now six months since the work started and it has been an unbelievable change."The idea of taking a very old building that was out of use and changing it into something beautiful and somewhere that the community can use is fantastic." Ryan Byrne from We Build Ireland has helped carry out the restoration and modernisation works at the fort."We were very fortunate to work with a very great architect in Mark Hackett who has been incredibly accommodating with the builders," he said. "Sometimes these old buildings get restricted by the design team."You have to work with the building, because sometimes when you try to work against the building, that's when things can go wrong."Ryan said Mark's vision and sensitivity to the fort's historic character ensured that every decision they carried out respected the past while also bringing to life the modern state-of-the-art plans. Una Cooper, strategic manager of CCP, emphasised the significance of the fort's future role for the area."It is no longer just a historical site," she said."It's a safe, inclusive, space that will support young people, celebrate our culture and bring the community together."We are incredibly proud of what this project represents." Northern Ireland Communities Minister Gordon Lyons welcomed the restoration of the historic fort and said it will be a huge benefit to the people of Culmore and surrounding areas."We are seeing more and more communities applying to Village Catalyst (grant scheme) and I am pleased that my department is able to support projects where at-risk heritage properties are being revitalised and restored for the benefit of the local community," he said. Supporting the local rural community Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir said it was part-funded through his department's Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation (TRPSI) Programme."The programme tackles rural poverty and social isolation by refurbishing neglected community-owned historic buildings for locally identified uses which provide access to services and address core community needs," he said."The provision of a multi-functional community facility in the Culmore area is a significant development and I'm delighted that this project will help support the local rural community for many years to come."
ABC News
28-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Concerns over "dire" regional mental health services
Right now, many rural Australians are grappling with the impacts of drought, floods and other natural disasters. But despite the added strain, there's a significant shortfall of mental health assistance available, driving calls for federal and state governments to de-centralise regional mental health services, to give local communities more control. FEATURED: Associate Professor Mathew Coleman, Chair of Rural and Remote Mental Health Practice at the University of Western Australia.
