Congratulations 🎊💐🥳🎊

Thank you, Fiona. That's very kind of you.

We also need to see:
🎯 ICBs developing a plan that addresses the care pathways between both services
🎯 ICBs funding voluntary orgs that meet the needs of marginalised communities
🎯 Strengthening & training of the workforce
🎯 Investment in testing innovative approaches to meeting co-occurring needs

Having both mental health and substance use difficulties shouldn’t stop you from accessing care. But this is too many people’s reality. We’re calling for more integrated, compassionate care so that everyone can get the support they need.
www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications...

This gap in provision has been recognised, but not effectively closed, for decades. Now we need action.

📢 We're calling for investment in both substance use & mental health services - and more integration between the two - as part of the upcoming ten-year health plan.

The pervasive stigma around both substance use and mental ill health acts as a significant barrier to getting help. And the lack of culturally competent, faith-sensitive, gender-informed can compound the barriers for people from racialised and LGBTQ+ communities.

A key barrier to support is the lack of integration between mental health and substance use services. Despite the complex links between the two problems, people are routinely refused mental health support until they stop using substances.

We hosted a roundtable with Professor Dame Carol Black and participants from charities, service providers, grassroots organisations, and professional bodies, to explore how we can move from fragmentation to more integrated, effective services.