‘A community in crisis’: staff qualitative experiences of NHS and third sector mental healthcare in England

Sambrook, L ORCID: 0000-0002-4798-9536, McIntyre, JC ORCID: 0000-0002-5601-524X, Nathan, R ORCID: 0000-0003-2780-6170, Tait, J, Ashley-Mudie, P, Humphreys, M, Wilson, P and Saini, P ORCID: 0000-0002-4981-7914 (2025) ‘A community in crisis’: staff qualitative experiences of NHS and third sector mental healthcare in England. BJPsych Open, 11 (5). pp. 1-9. ISSN 2056-4724

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Abstract

Background More people than ever are receiving support for mental health issues, and instances of suicide continue to grow. Although mental health funding has increased, UK government figures evidence that the National Health Service (NHS) does not have the resources required to respond to such growth in demand. The experiences of staff working in mental health services can offer insight into the efficacy of current provision and assist in service evaluation; however, research examining this issue outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the context of community mental health, is lacking. Aims We aimed to explore the perspectives of staff working in a variety of mental health services in North-West England, to elucidate the current standard of care provided and highlight areas for improvement. Method One-to-one interviews were conducted with 26 staff members as part of a qualitative grounded theory analysis. Results Findings portrayed a community in crisis, consisting of the following themes: stabilisation not recovery, inefficient pathways and barriers to collaboration. Conclusions NHS services are struggling to meet the mental health needs of the population, resulting in lengthy waiting times for therapy, a lack of intervention-focused care and an over-reliance on the third sector. While crisis cafés are provided at low cost and result in satisfaction, policy-makers must ensure that these receive adequate funding and do not become overburdened. Staff reported that collaboration between clinical and non-clinical services would improve care pathways and reduce strain on the NHS, but judgemental attitudes and inflexible service development must be challenged to achieve this.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Mental health; community mental health; grounded theory; qualitative research; third sector; 4203 Health Services and Systems; 4205 Nursing; 42 Health Sciences; Health Services; Clinical Research; Behavioral and Social Science; Mental Health; 8.1 Organisation and delivery of services; 7.1 Individual care needs; Generic health relevance; Mental health; 3 Good Health and Well Being; 1103 Clinical Sciences; 1117 Public Health and Health Services; 3202 Clinical sciences; 4203 Health services and systems
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions:	Psychology (from Sep 2019)
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Date of acceptance:	21 July 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	7 October 2025
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2025 14:42
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2025 15:00
DOI or ID number:	10.1192/bjo.2025.10826
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27290

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