A new mental health centre is set to open in Lee in May 2026, offering 24/7 support for Lewisham residents. The Lewisham Neighbourhood 2 Central (N2C) Community Mental Health Centre will be located at 1 Heather Close and aims to provide neighbourhood-based care, improve access, and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions.
The centre is one of six national pilot sites selected by NHS England to test a new model of mental health care for adults. The South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLAM) and its partners are developing and delivering an integrated community approach. The N2C team includes the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT), Primary Care Mental Health Team (PCMHT) from the Trust, Mountsfield Recovery House, and providers from the Voluntary and Community Sector Enterprise (VCSE) Cooperative. The VCSE Cooperative service will, where appropriate, work in partnership with the Trust's Clinical Teams to support people with their mental health and wellbeing whether are under the care of their GP, Mental Health Primary Care Services, Community Mental Health Teams or Social Care services.
The team will offer clinical and social interventions, as indicated by NICE guidelines, and culturally appropriate services in the community. The VCSE Cooperative includes various Partnership Awards (Lot 3) to provide support that is culturally and faith-appropriate, with a focus on, but not limited to, black communities, including community development and subsequent interventions to build trust and engagement in mental health services.
Key milestones for the project include:
- February 2025 – April 2025: Recruitment of the Lewisham N2C Programme and Leadership team.
- May 2025 – August 2025: Funding approved by the Maudsley Charity to refurbish 1 Heather Close (£2.53m) and conduct a local evaluation in partnership with King's College London.
- September 2025 – October 2025: VCSE Cooperative commissioned providers announced.
- November 2025 – January 2026: Extended service hours; Mon to Fri 08:00 – 20:00 and Sat -Sun 09:00 – 17:00
- February 2026 – May 2026: Co-location of the Lewisham N2C team including VCSE partners to 1 Heather Close.
- March 2027: Final evaluation of benefits and impact.
The VCSE Cooperative has commissioned a partnership of 15 voluntary and community sector providers to support people aged 18 years and over in their wellness and recovery. The cooperative has three lots:
- Lot 1: South East London MIND will support people with their mental health and wellbeing and will be pivotal in delivering the Lewisham Community Mental Health Services Framework.
- Lot 2: Together for Wellbeing will provide an Assertive Outreach offer to support people who disengage from statutory mental health and care services, and relapse prevention.
- Lot 3: Various Partnership Awards will provide support that is culturally and faith-appropriate, with a focus on, but not limited to, black communities, including community development and subsequent interventions to build trust and engagement in mental health services.
The evaluation of the pilot program's success and its impact on reducing hospital admissions will use both quantitative and qualitative data, as outlined in the Lewisham Neighbourhood 2 Central 24/7 Community Mental Health Centre report. Quantitative data includes: Quality of Life and treatment satisfaction using DIALOG, Clinical outcome measures (e.g. HONOS and CORE-OM), Access to evidence-based care, Use of services (inpatient admissions, bed days, HTT use, A&E presentations), Admissions under the Mental Health Act, and Referral, interventions and outcomes data from the VCSE Collaborative. Qualitative data includes: Experience of service users, carers and community representatives particularly on access, patient centredness, equity and safety, and Experience of clinical and operational managers within the Trust and within relevant voluntary & community sector and local government teams.
At a meeting of the Healthier Communities Select Committee on Tuesday 11 November 2025, Professor Derek Tracy, Chief Medical Officer at SLAM, said there was a shared consensus that there can be high walls that deal with mental illness in a rather insular fashion. He said the move in the UK echoes international changes in mental health, and the national pilots are to be the vanguard of this.
Councillor Mark Jackson, Chair of Overview and Scrutiny, noted the initiative was desperately needed and really positive. He asked about staffing plans for moving to a 24-hour model, and how confident SLAM were that it would be a sustainable model in terms of recruitment and staffing and that there's the available talent that they need there.
Adeniyi Aderinto, Service Director for collaboration with local voluntary and community sectors, said that the team has already started, and that they've had.
The report acknowledges that the new community model will require a sustainable funding model following the pilot phase to embed the integrated service model
. During the meeting, Professor Derek Tracy mentioned that funding is a challenge in healthcare and that they are working on a similar cut again, and it's about how they continue to provide services as best they can. He also mentioned that if the service is clinically effective, it tends to be cost-effective, and one of the biggest ways to potentially recoup costs is if they can reduce reliance on inpatient care.
