A round-the-clock community mental health hub is to open in Waltham Forest in 2028, giving people in crisis somewhere to turn that is not a hospital emergency department.
The North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) has announced plans for three new community mental health hubs across east London. The Waltham Forest hub and one in Barking & Dagenham are due to open by 2028, with a third in Redbridge following by 2030.
The hubs will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are intended to work as an alternative to A&E — a place where residents can get mental health support quickly, close to where they live.
NELFT's chief operating officer Brid Johnson said: "Our new, 24/7 community mental health hubs will provide people with a real alternative to hospital admission with timely and effective support closer to home."
She said the trust had already opened a number of community services and had seen positive results for people's recovery and wellbeing.
Alongside the hubs, NELFT is working with Barts Health to set up a dedicated mental health crisis assessment service at Whipps Cross Hospital, aimed at reducing the number of people who end up in A&E while in crisis.
Calvin Bailey, Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead, welcomed the investment but said "the highest standards of safety and accountability" had to be maintained as services expand.
The plans follow a £343million government investment in mental health facilities across England.
