Following this unprecedented year it is fully expected that demand for mental health support will continue to increase. For the first time since 2015, the MWN Helpline too found ‘mental health/feelings’ as its top issue (40% of all cases received), and the number of counselling sessions provided by our service more than doubled when compared to 2019. If this was the impact on our service, nationally, the picture is much bleaker.

In order to ensure every individual is given the care they deserve, we believe the following is needed:

• significant capital investment by the government to the NHS to be able to modernise the mental health estate
• sustainable funding for NHS and Local Authorities current mental health services and its expansion to meet increased demand
• embedding a co-production approach whenever designing and implementing services
• ongoing investment in a well-resourced valued mental health workforce which is diverse at all levels
• ongoing implementation and improvement of all Equality competency frameworks within healthcare services
• meaningful training for all mental health professionals in the aforementioned principles, equality and diversity principles, and more awareness of diverse communities from a range of delivery partners
• sustainable investment in and funding for public health, social care and community based specialist mental health care to ensure more people with mental health issues are treated well, and treated early
• a national awareness raising campaign, including available resources and training on the changes to the Act