Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for urgent mental health service provision.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Clinical Review of Access Standards committed to testing new standards during 2020/21 for urgent mental health crisis care, including access to a liaison psychiatry team in accident and emergency departments within an hour of referral.

The NHS Long Term Plan set out measures to achieve 24 hours a day, seven days a week crisis care services, including a new national single point of access via NHS 111, and increased investment in alternative crisis services.