Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to create specialist services for people with bipolar disorder.

The Community Mental Health Framework set out a vision for transforming community mental health services. The vision is a whole person, whole population approach to community health services, with new integrated models between primary and secondary care that can deliver more flexible, personalised, and holistic care for more people with serious mental illness, including for people with a diagnosis of bi-polar disorder. Since April 2021, all areas have received significant additional, ring-fenced funding to develop these new integrated primary and community mental health services, built around Primary Care Networks, in line with the Community Mental Health Framework. Systems have made significant progress in rolling out these integrated models of care, including for people with a diagnosis of bi-polar disorder.

In addition, people of all ages who are in crisis or who are concerned about a family or loved one can now call 111, select the mental health option, and speak to a trained mental health professional. National Health Service staff can guide callers with next steps such as organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternative services, like crisis cafés or safe havens, which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to accident and emergency or hospital admission.