Change Mental Health is expressing deep concern regarding the proposed cancellation of contacts under the Thrive Edinburgh programme, particularly around the recommended disinvestment in community-based mental health services spearheaded by the Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board (EIJB).

Removing funds from the Thrive Edinburgh programme means that 4,367 people in Edinburgh would be without community mental health support. We know that the social value return of Thrive Edinburgh is £7.13 for every £1 spent. Since its inception in 2020, the programme has demonstrated significant social and economic impact.

A proposed cut means the Stafford Centre itself, our community resource on Edinburgh’s Broughton Street, would be at risk – a service which supports 640 people annually, plus 9,870 additional hours of support through Thrive.

80% of those who attend Stafford Centre agree that the service has kept them out of hospital. We estimate that the Stafford Centre saves NHS Lothian and the IJB up to £4.4 million a year in psychiatric-related hospital admissions, at a cost of only £188,000.

Early intervention and prevention in community settings leads to better mental health outcomes for people. Remove these services and demand will simply be redirected to more expensive NHS services, putting significant strain on the public health system and budget in subsequent years. It will mean many vulnerable people will go without support or rely on overstretched NHS resources, leading to severe mental health crises and fatalities, plus an increased burden on hospitals.

We are calling for proposals to be paused for one year to allow for a full, evidence-led and co-produced redesign of Thrive services. This will ensure that decisions are not only fiscally responsible but clinically sound, socially just and strategically sustainable. Working with Change Mental Health and the wider Thrive Edinburgh programme would allow services to be more integrated and cost-effective through a more collaborative approach. Pivotally, there needs to be full transparency and a dedication to work with the third sector from the EIJB.

Nick Ward, CEO at Change Mental Health, said:

“The Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board (EIJB) has approached this all wrong. It’s outrageous, it’s short-sighted and many vulnerable people in Edinburgh will be left without the support they need.

“While we recognise the financial pressures facing the EIJB, it’s fundamentally flawed on economic, clinical and process grounds. It will shift demand onto more expensive statutory services with more people ending up in crisis.

“There is an opportunity to work together to reform. It cannot be about scrapping services entirely, but it absolutely can be about redesigning services in partnership that meet the needs of our communities.

“The decision to remove funding risks undermining the stability and quality of services that so many depend on. It would be devastating to the population of Edinburgh. This approach, if carried forward, would leave Edinburgh as an outlier in Western Europe – where other cities continue to commit to delivering community-based mental health services as an essential part of their healthcare systems.

“We call upon the Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board to pause these proposals and instead commit to working in partnership to develop services that support people better and cost the taxpayer less.”