A segment about mental health care provided to the local community in Bethnal Green has been covered by BBC’s primetime talk show, The One Show.
The Barnsley Street Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre is a service that provides mental health input for people when they need it – to help prevent people becoming very unwell and needing hospital admissions, or to help them avoid spending time in A&E as much as they may do now.
The Centre is part of an NHS England pilot scheme, trialling 24/7 centres to support those with mental health needs. It is available to residents registered at one of the following five GP practices:
Bethnal Green Health Centre
The Mission Practice
Sutton’s Wharf Health Centre
Strouts Place Medical Centre
XX Place Health Centre
The broadcast aired at 7pm on Monday, 16 March. It can be found on BBC iPlayer at 01:50: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002stq6/the-one-show-16032026.
Behind the Scenes – by Jay Harris
As the BBC’s camera crew and One Show presenter Ashley John-Baptiste arrived at Barnsley Street, they were welcomed by our friendly and supportive reception staff, alongside operational colleagues. Right from the beginning, they were able to get a sense of compassion and empathy between colleagues and service users.
In the morning, the crew were given an initial tour of the site. They were able to see lots of vivid imagery, including bright green plants above a comfortable seating area near the entrance and accessible posters about upcoming events co-designed with service users. They also saw the wide range of games that service users can play, including pool, chess and various board games (there are plenty to choose from!).
Following this, the crew were provided access to Barnsley Street colleagues’ morning huddle to take b-roll footage. In this meeting, the team discussed the latest updates on patients’ wellbeing along with next steps to support them. I was particularly impressed by how unfazed the team were by camera crew recording parts of the session, it was as if they weren’t there at all!
Next, various service users were interviewed by Ashley, giving him a flavour of why neighbourhood mental health centres are so important to the local community. This was a relaxed conversation about service users’ journeys, and why they are thankful to have caring, supportive staff to lean on. It was enjoyable watching Ashley speaking with service users while playing games with them such as pool and chess – he really lent in to what Barnsley Street is all about; togetherness, community and kindness.
The day finished with interviews amongst clinical staff who work at Barnsley Street. Ashley was provided with a greater understanding of NHS England’s pilot scheme, and the ways the service is reducing the number of service users presenting at emergency departments.
Overall, it was a lovely day of welcoming visitors and learning even more about the service. I cannot wait to visit Barnsley Street again soon, and I wish all the other pilot sites the very best as they begin to open up to their communities.