Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2017 to Question 8586, what additional resources have been set aside to fund the provision of mental health support and counselling for the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire and their families in (a) 2017 and (b) each of the next five years.

We are informed by NHS England that there are about 160 National Health Service staff members providing support to people impacted by the Grenfell Tower Fire. Central and North West London NHS Foundation Ttust (CNWL) have 40 therapists providing trauma support, backed by the primary care liaison and school nursing team. There are also 67 members of staff providing outreach services, including knocking on people’s doors and visiting hotels. This work is supported by CNWL clinical management team.

CNWL are also working with a number of bereavement support organisations including CRUSE and Place2Be for children. Additional support is provided by general practitioners, nurses and existing mental health services with additional sessions from a range of mental health providers led by CNWL.

The NHS is continuing to respond to the needs of those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, and a substantial recruitment drive is underway for specialist therapy roles for individuals and families.

Additional capacity has been put in mental health crisis teams, general practice, and community teams. This enables Grenfell patients to be seen quickly and have longer appointment times to meet their complex needs. Bespoke services have also been put in place that are more intensive and accessible, specific to the needs resulting from the incident based on what residents have said.

NHS England is currently working with West London Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure that the funding is in place to cover cost pressures incurred to date and for additional services required in future years.