Andy Bell

Text: Keeping children away from social media might sound like a quick and easy way to turn around the rising tide of mental distress among young people and protect children from a wide range of online harms, but it’s unlikely to be quite so simple.If the online world isn’t safe for children, how are we going to make the real world safer and more welcoming?

The Government has launched a consultation into children's digital wellbeing covering social media age bans. @andybell-centremh.bsky.social on how tackling online harms must be based on evidence & matched by a deeper understanding of what is causing the rise in mental distress. bit.ly/4aTwCEY

Our response to the Chancellor’s Spring Forecast
The Chancellor used her statement to focus on young people. But if the Government is serious about helping young people find meaningful employment, they must invest in their mental health. Read our full response: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Poverty & adversity combine to increase risk of police involvement & weapon-carrying.

Young people who experienced both persistent poverty & parental mental illness during childhood showed the highest rates at age 17.

New blog today by @andybell-centremh.bsky.social from @centreformh.bsky.social

LGBTQ+ History Month and mental health: How the past shapes the present - Centre for Mental Health David explores how LGBTQ+ history speaks to the present, and acts as a guide to the future.

Marking #LGBTHistoryMonth, @davidwoodhead.bsky.social explores how #LGBTQ+ history helps us see how the past sits in the present. Read his latest blog 👇https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/lgbtq-history-month-and-mental-health-how-the-past-shapes-the-present/

Funding boost for young people’s mental health services Early Support Hubs across England to receive a £7 million funding boost to bolster services for young people.

Today’s announcement to extend funding for early support hubs for young people’s mental health is a welcome step. We have long called for a national rollout of hubs so that all children and young people can access timely, community-based mental health support.
www.gov.uk/government/n...

Text: Keeping children away from social media might sound like a quick and easy way to turn around the rising tide of mental distress among young people and protect children from a wide range of online harms, but it’s unlikely to be quite so simple.If the online world isn’t safe for children, how are we going to make the real world safer and more welcoming?

Our CEO @andybell-centremh.bsky.social reflects on the recently announced consultation on banning social media for under 16s, & how it can be an opportunity to encourage policies that have the best chance of benefiting children both now and long-term: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/social-media...

People waiting too long for mental healthcare and becoming more ill while they wait, CQC finds - Centre for Mental Health Care Quality Commission report finds mental health services are struggling to cope with high levels of need.

The CQC annual report on the Mental Health Act paints a picture of services that are struggling to cope with high levels of need with insufficient resources and often inadequate facilities, @andybell-centremh.bsky.social said today. Read in full👇
bit.ly/4qO9DCh

Why decline in children’s mental health is ‘biggest challenge of our time’ Mental health services are “struggling to keep pace and meet the individual needs of children and young people”, leading charities have warned

Together with our Future Minds partners, today we’ve published a roadmap putting forward concrete solutions to address the mental health concerns and struggles of children, young people, and their families.

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...

Quote card of JRF's chief analyst Peter Matejic saying 'It's been 125 years since Seebohm Rowntree first outlined the scale and depth of poverty people faced. This report shows that poverty in the UK is still not just widespread, it is deeper and more damaging than at any other point in the last 30 years.'

Overall poverty rates have flatlined since 2005/06 at just over a fifth.

The longer a family spends in poverty, the worse the effects on that family.

The longer we tolerate unacceptably high levels of poverty, the worse it is for our country.

⏳ The time for action is now.

Rising child anxiety laid bare in decade of Mumsnet conversations Analysis of hundreds of thousands of posts shows parents struggling to deal with overwhelmed and phone-addicted children

Check out this piece in the Sunday Times with @mumsnet.bsky.social exploring the experiences over a decade of families seeking mental health support for their children 👇
www.thetimes.com/article/d787...

Quote from Andy Bell: “For mental health services in England, and those who use or work in them, the future still looks uncertain... This could be a year of significant progress.

In our latest blog, @andybell-centremh.bsky.social takes a look at the Government's record so far on mental health, and how we can work together to create better mental health in the year ahead. 👇
www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/the-year-ahe...

Text: The job of changing the Act is not done. It’s barely started. But with an updated legal framework in place, it’s time to make it work.

The Mental Health Act has just received Royal Assent. @andybell-centremh.bsky.social says "For too long, the law has lagged behind our understanding of what people need to protect their rights and dignity. It's vital that the new Act is implemented swiftly and equitably. 👇
shorturl.at/GORf3

Mental health services in the UK in 2025: what the latest NHS Benchmarking survey tells us - Centre for Mental Health Andy Bell dives into the latest data on mental health services across the UK, gathered by NHS Benchmarking Network.

The UK Benchmarking Network provides a UK wide snapshot of mental health services across all four nations, spanning community and inpatient care for children, adults, and older people. @andybell-centremh.bsky.social dives into the latest data 👇
www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/mental-healt...

Built to Harm: how women's prisons take lives 3 December 2025

🚨 NEW REPORT: Built to Harm: how women's prisons take lives

From 2018–24, 59 people died in women’s prisons in England & Wales, nearly 40% self-inflicted.

The report shows many deaths could have been prevented if successive governments had acted on long-standing calls to end women’s imprisonment.

Text: New report exposes how serious mental illness is related to inequality. We urgently need a cross-government plan to build a mentally healthier future.

New @england.nhs.uk data released today underlines the inequalities that create so much mental illness health in our society. Read our response from @andybell-centremh.bsky.social www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/news/item/ad...

A child wearing a yellow hazmat suit, that functions as loungewear, standing in front of a black background with the text "Hazmat Loungewear" and "Because 1 in 4 Brits live in homes that could make them ill" displayed.

Every child deserves a good-quality, warm, and safe home.

But children across the UK are growing up with damp, cold and mould in their homes — putting their health on the line.

They shouldn’t need a hazmat suit to stay healthy at home. Help us call for real solutions. 👉https://bit.ly/4nHViVo

15 million people in the UK live in homes with issues like damp, cold or mould.

Nobody should need a hazmat suit to stay healthy at home. That’s why we’re part of @healthequals.bsky.social​'s campaign to #MakeHealthEqual.

You can be part of the solution too. Act now 👉 https://bit.ly/4r0izok

What does the NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework mean for mental health services? - Centre for Mental Health For mental health services, the Planning Framework presents at best a mixed picture.

The new NHS Medium Term Planning Framework will be used by ICBs to make decisions on how to use scarce resources but it offers little hope of the kind of transformational change and investment we need.
👇Read @andybell-centremh.bsky.social analysis
www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/what-does-th...

Turning around the public’s declining mental health - Centre for Mental Health Andy explores the social and economic factors behind the decline in the nation's mental health, and the action needed to turn it around.

Here from @andybell-centremh.bsky.social on what is driving the worsening of the public’s mental health in England and Wales in this blog: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/turning-arou...

Our strategy - Centre for Mental Health How we're working to eradicate mental health inequalities

Today @centreformh.bsky.social we’re sharing our bold new five-year strategy for a mentally healthier future. We’re determined to make a difference through our work. Please have a read and join us www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/about-us/our...

We need to talk about wealth inequality and mental health A joint post with Andy Bell, Chief Executive of the Centre for Mental Health

We need to talk about wealth inequality and mental health (joint post with @andybell-centremh.bsky.social at @centreformh.bsky.social)

Quote from Person with lived experience of inpatient care: “Every time I have been admitted and then released ‘back into the community’, you have to start all over again… You have to pick up the pieces and come to terms and recover from having been in one of the most scariest and traumatic environments ever.”

Quote from Person with lived experience of inpatient care: “You can’t reinforce a state of feeling safe or wanting to open up, or wanting to engage with these services or enter into a practice of self love, because you’re in a state of fight or flight.”

⚠️ Crisis and acute mental health care saves lives.
But provision is patchy and inconsistent, and experiences of coercive care can be re-traumatising.

We explored what's needed to deliver inpatient care which is timely, compassionate and effective: tinyurl.com/yt2cn8y9 @mentalhealthpru.bsky.social

New today from @centreformh.bsky.social our policy briefing from @mentalhealthpru.bsky.social studies of crisis and acute inpatient care in England. Key messages: current provision is patchy and not always well aligned with evidence from research

Briefing 64: Crisis and acute mental health care - Centre for Mental Health Crisis and acute mental health care examines research about the most effective ways of supporting people in a mental health crisis.

⚠️ Crisis and acute inpatient care needs to change.
People facing a mental health crisis too often struggle to get the right support. And alternatives to hospital care sometimes exclude the people who need them most.
We're urging @england.nhs.uk to invest in this vital system tinyurl.com/yt2cn8y9 🧵

‘It’s the perfect storm’: why are people with eating disorders at risk of suicide? A qualitative study - BMC Medicine Background Eating disorders (EDs) are associated with elevated all-cause mortality, with suicide cited as the second leading cause of death among individuals with EDs. Evidence suggests that individua...

📢New research 📢 Our new qualitative study provides the first in-depth study exploring individuals experiences and views regarding why people with eating disorders are at risk of suicide. bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
@saakshikakar.bsky.social @mrtzhrl.bsky.social
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‘It's a Horrible Place to Have a Period’: A Survivor‐Led Investigation of Experiences of Menstrual Health in Psychiatric Inpatient Settings in England This study examined patients' experiences of menstrual health in psychiatric inpatient settings in England as reported by staff and patients. Questionnaires were conducted with 67 staff members and 1...

Thank you to @nsunnews.bsky.social for funding the research. The full research article is available here:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Graphic of 8 icons of people. 7 of them are are a teal colour and one of them is yellow. Underneath the eight figures black text reads 'There are only enough mental health social workers in the NHS to support 1 in 8 people who have severe mental illness.'

🚨 There are only enough mental health social workers in the NHS to support 1 in 8 people who have severe mental illness.

Mental health social workers are vital professionals who can make such a difference to people’s life - but we need more of them.

#SocialWorkMatters

No Neighbourhood Health Without Mental Health - Centre for Mental Health Embedding mental health support in NHS integrated neighbourhood teams.

This looks like a timely report from the ever relevant @centreformh.bsky.social on the interface between the neighbourhood agenda and mental health. And it references a piece of work I did with them at @nationalvoices.bsky.social 'Ask me how I am'.
www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications...

Mental health in all policies: time for a mental health policy test - Centre for Mental Health Laura Shields-Zeeman from the Trimbos Institute, the Netherlands, and Andy Bell consider the benefits of a mental health policy test, and what this could look like in practice.

"What if every policy proposal, whether about housing, education or transport, was assessed for its impact on mental health?"

Laura Shields-Zeeman from the Netherlands' Trimbos Institute & @andybell-centremh.bsky.social consider what a mental health policy test could look like in practice 👇

The Government's vision of a Neighbourhood Health Service can only be achieved if mental health is at the heart of the model.

The Government has set out its vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service.

🎯 But this can only be achieved if mental health is at the heart of the model.

Our new resource sets out how neighbourhood teams can embed mental health support and tackle health inequalities: tinyurl.com/4zxuscyw