More Hackney schoolchildren to be offered mental health support in NHS project
The programme will offer mental health support in schools. Picture: ELFT - Credit: Archant
More pupils across Hackney will be offered mental health support after funding was granted for an NHS project.
NHS England's School Trailblazer programme will have Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) work directly in schools and colleges across the borough from October.
One in nine young people aged five to 15 had a diagnosable mental health condition in 2017 and teenagers with a mental health disorder are more than twice as likely to have a mental disorder in adulthood.
Henry Iwunze, a mental health chief at East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT), said: "The Trailblazer programme offers a really exciting opportunity to work differently with young people, supporting their mental health needs at an earlier stage and in a familiar setting."
The funding bid was made by the City and Hackney Integrated Commissioning partnership, which includes the City & Hackney Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), mental health providers and Hackney Learning Trust.
The government is rolling out 24 new MHSTs in 48 areas across the country.
