From the Guardian · · 2m
Hope Haven: Whitehaven's 24/7 mental health hub shows early promise
A pilot community mental health centre in Cumbria offers walk-in support without diagnosis or referral, with early results showing fewer hospital admissions and thousands accessing care.
In brief
A pilot community mental health centre in Cumbria offers walk-in support without diagnosis or referral, with early results showing fewer hospital admissions and thousands accessing care. Hope Haven, a pilot mental health hub in Whitehaven, has seen three thousand people access support in five months and helped reduce…
Tamara's turning point at midnight
The twenty two year old walked into Hope Haven at eleven o'clock at night terrified. She was seen immediately and offered an appointment for the next day, a moment she says changed her life.
“Like, my life was falling apart. I didn't know how to stop it from hurting.”
What Hope Haven offers
The hub in Whitehaven provides preventive, open-access care twenty four seven. People do not need a diagnosis or referral to access its services, reflecting concerns that traditional NHS services have struggled.
Three thousand people in five months
From March to July, about three thousand people accessed support at Hope Haven either digitally or in person. Nearly half had never been in contact with NHS mental health services before.
Hospital admissions drop sharply
Admissions to inpatient mental health wards in the area fell by twenty four percent between January and September compared with the same period last year.
Part of a larger rollout
Hope Haven is one of six pilot centres across England. After Andy Burnham's announcement of three hundred forty three million pounds towards mental health redesign, one hundred more hubs are due to open gradually starting…
Whitehaven's crisis
The coastal town has one of the highest suicide rates in England, with twenty people per one hundred thousand dying by suicide, according to NHS Alliance, almost double the national rate.
Gordy's recovery without medication
Gordy, forty seven, struggled with alcohol addiction and took antidepressants for four and a half years.Since engaging with Hope Haven's one-to-one, non-judgmental support, he has come off them and can walk in public without terror.
“You're not a barcode here. Suicide's massive around here, and this is direct, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.”
Mary finds community at ninety one
Mary Bragg, ninety one, lost her husband seven years ago and lives alone. She attends a weekly chair-based exercise class at Hope Haven and has made friends through the hub, saying she is a lot…
“I just love the company.”
MP backs the centre's impact
Josh MacAlister, the Labour MP for Whitehaven and Workington, praised Hope Haven's work. He said the high suicide rates are extremely concerning and a source of deep pain, and that the hub's walk-in, low-stigma service…
“Having a walk-in, low-stigma service that offers a range of help could prove to be a big part of the solution.”
The one thing
Hope Haven, a pilot mental health hub in Whitehaven, has seen three thousand people access support in five months and helped reduce inpatient admissions by twenty four percent, with plans for one hundred more centres across England.
