Following months of behind-the-scenes preparations, the Barnsley Street Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre held a launch event on Thursday 17 July 2025 with service users, partners and stakeholders.
The morning kicked off with a visit from Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock. He had the opportunity to learn about the way the service will be supporting the community in Bethnal Green and hopes for the project, before being provided a tour of the site.
The official launch event took place later in the afternoon. Sheraz Ahmad, who is a Consultant Psychiatrist for the new service, compèred the event. He introduced a range of speakers, including:
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Lorraine Sunduza OBE, Chief Executive, ELFT
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Leah White, Clinical Director for Tower Hamlets Adult Mental Health, ELFT
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Safia Jama, Chief Executive, Women’s Inclusive Team, Tower Hamlets Mental Health Alliance
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Sir Norman Lamb, Chair, Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition
The event concluded with a ribbon being cut by a service user who has been supported by colleagues at Barnsley Street – officially marking the beginning of the pilot’s operations.
Tower Hamlets was chosen by NHS England as one of six areas across the country to trial new 24/7 centres to support those with mental health needs. Its aim is to provide mental health input for people when they need it – to help prevent people becoming very unwell and needing hospital admissions, or to help them avoid spending time in A&E as much as they may do now.
The Centre is available for local residents registered at any of the following five GP practices:
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Bethnal Green Health Centre
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The Mission Practice
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Sutton’s Wharf Health Centre
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Strouts Place Medical Centre
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XX Place Health Centre
The service is there for anybody known to local GP and mental health services and offers planned and drop-in sessions with psychiatrists, nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers, voluntary sector and peer support workers. For those who need it, the site will have up to six guest beds for overnight stays.
No referrals are needed. Local people registered with the above practices will be able to drop in and can be directed or referred by their GP too. The Centre is open from 8am to 8pm, and there will be flexibility for people to have their mental health needs met in different ways that hopefully is more accessible.
The site is owned by Look Ahead, a not-for-profit housing association and social care provider based in London and the South East. Look Ahead will have specialist and support worker staff present 24/7 to welcome people as they arrive, and for those staying in guest beds overnight. Look Ahead staff will continue to support people for the duration of their stay, as well as drop-in visitors, with an emphasis on social inclusion.
In partnership with the local authority, the Trust provides clinical staff and social workers, while third sector organisations from the Tower Hamlets Mental Health Alliance are on hand for employment support, social engagement and activities.
Commenting on the launch of the service, ELFT’s Chief Executive, Lorraine Sunduza OBE, said: “The Barnsley Street Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre will provide person-centred mental health care for people in Bethnal Green when they need it and bring NHS care closer to home.
“I am very proud that ELFT and partners Look Ahead and the Tower Hamlets Mental Health Alliance will be providing the first neighbourhood pilot site to be fully operational.”
Look Ahead’s CEO, Chris Hampson, added: “We’re delighted to be delivering the Barnsley Street Neighbourhood mental Health Centre in partnership with ELFT and the Mental Health Alliance. This new centre represents a major step forward in making vital, genuinely holistic mental health support more accessible within local communities. It also marks meaningful progress in the integration of health, social care, and housing services across east London.”
Cassandra Geisel, Rethink Mental Illness and Lead of the Tower Hamlets Mental Health Alliance, concluded: “We know that timely access to mental health support close to home can be the difference between recovery and crisis for people living with severe mental illness. What people tell us, and what evidence shows, is that the most effective support is wraparound: providing access not only to clinical care and treatment but also to support with housing, employment, and building social connections.
“These factors can be powerful in preventing relapse and supporting recovery, but when absent, someone’s mental health can significantly worsen. This new one-stop-shop mental health centre, bringing together clinical teams, voluntary sector partners and peer support workers, represents the future of mental health care. The Tower Hamlets Mental Health Alliance is proud to have played a role in bringing it to life.”
If you have any questions about the Barnsley Street Neighbourhood Health Centre or the project in general, you can contact elft.barnsleynmhc@nhs.net.
