About the campaign

We are in the midst of a mental health crisis. According to charity Mind roughly 40% of all GP appointments relate to mental health problems. We are failing to properly address the need for mental health support and the long waiting times - which causes suffering for struggling people. The COVID-19 pandemic has made us more aware about the importance of looking after our mental health and the consequences of being unable to seek support have been laid bare. 

Our Aims

Place at least one mental health nurse in every GP surgery across the country

A mental health nurse being available in every GP surgery will reduce waiting times for mental health appointments substantially and give much needed capacity back to GPs. In addition, a qualified mental health nurse would be able to deal with a range of issues which patients currently need to attend hospital for.  A successful pilot scheme where mental health nurses are an integral part of GP surgeries has already taken place.  The pilot scheme demonstrated improvement in mental health and a reduction in waiting times, and was considered a success. No Time To Wait would like to see further pilot schemes rolled out to other parts of the country.

End the postcode lottery in mental health services.

Our research shows that the IAPT doesn’t provide equal care across the country. It displays a stark contrast in waiting times, average number of sessions and minimum number of sessions offered based on where you live. To level up mental healthcare there should be a higher, nationwide minimum number of sessions. Whether you are from the North or the South you should be able to access mental health services equally. Furthermore, we found different CCGs provide different groups of statistics, as well as different levels of care. We must standardise mental health care recording and publish the data so we can continually improve the quality of care across the UK. 

Reduce the current waiting time targets.

Mental health doesn’t wait for anyone and too many people are slipping through the cracks. Almost 150,000 people struggling with their mental health in 2019-20 were unable to start treatment within 6 weeks of being referred. Introducing mental health nurses in GP surgeries should help improve the target waiting time to 2-4 weeks. The sooner patients are seen, the quicker they can get the help they desperately need.