Mind

What do you know about same-day open access?

A shift to same-day open access could transform mental health support in England. How much do you know about it? Take the quiz and find out!

Question 1 of 5

Not quite...

98% of NHS respondents said this principle is essential or very important to delivering high-quality mental health services. But only 46% think their service does this most of the time or always.  

More generally, NHS professionals reported that they often feel unable to deliver the quality of care they know people need, because of the immense system pressures they face every day. Just over a third (34%) said they didn’t feel able to meet the standard most of the time.

Correct!

98% of NHS respondents said this principle is essential or very important to delivering high-quality mental health services. But only 46% think their service does this most of the time or always.  

More generally, NHS professionals reported that they often feel unable to deliver the quality of care they know people need, because of the immense system pressures they face every day. Just over a third (34%) said they didn’t feel able to meet the standard most of the time.

Question 2 of 5

Not quite...

Through talking to people who use services and surveying staff who deliver them, we arrived at a set of key principles for high-quality mental health support: 

  • person-centred
  • accessible
  • safe
  • intervening early
  • always improving

Correct!

Through talking to people who use services and surveying staff who deliver them, we arrived at a set of key principles for high-quality mental health support: 

  • person-centred
  • accessible
  • safe
  • intervening early
  • always improving

Question 3 of 5

Not quite...

Person-centred care is shaped around the individual’s needs, rather than the needs of the service. It involves 5 elements: 

  • Holistic: support looks beyond symptoms or diagnoses to consider the whole person, including their physical health, relationships, housing, employment, finances and community connections. 
  • Culturally responsive: care responds to the ways culture, identity and lived experience shape mental health. It removes barriers to support and helps people feel understood, represented and respected. 
  • Choice and agency: people are empowered to make informed decisions about their care and treatment. 
  • Trauma-informed: Care is delivered with an understanding of how trauma can affect people’s lives, behaviours and relationships. It prioritises safety, trust, empathy and avoiding re-traumatisation. 
  • Relational: High-quality care is built on trusting, compassionate and collaborative relationships and values continuity.

Correct!

Person-centred care is shaped around the individual’s needs, rather than the needs of the service. It involves 5 elements: 

  • Holistic: support looks beyond symptoms or diagnoses to consider the whole person, including their physical health, relationships, housing, employment, finances and community connections. 
  • Culturally responsive: care responds to the ways culture, identity and lived experience shape mental health. It removes barriers to support and helps people feel understood, represented and respected. 
  • Choice and agency: people are empowered to make informed decisions about their care and treatment. 
  • Trauma-informed: Care is delivered with an understanding of how trauma can affect people’s lives, behaviours and relationships. It prioritises safety, trust, empathy and avoiding re-traumatisation. 
  • Relational: High-quality care is built on trusting, compassionate and collaborative relationships and values continuity.

Question 4 of 5

Not quite...

In a same-day open access system, anyone can quickly access a conversation with a professional, who will take the time to properly understand the person’s needs and circumstances. It’s the foundation for identifying the further support someone needs, whether that is clinical care, peer support, help with housing or employment, or a combination. 

This solves a fundamental problem at the core of our current mental health system: we do not take enough time upfront to properly understand a person’s needs. This puts more pressure on services, because people can receive services that they don't really need, and their health often gets worse while they wait for the right help.

Correct!

In a same-day open access system, anyone can quickly access a conversation with a professional, who will take the time to properly understand the person’s needs and circumstances. It’s the foundation for identifying the further support someone needs, whether that is clinical care, peer support, help with housing or employment, or a combination. 

This solves a fundamental problem at the core of our current mental health system: we do not take enough time upfront to properly understand a person’s needs. This puts more pressure on services, because people can receive services that they don't really need, and their health often gets worse while they wait for the right help.

Question 5 of 5

Not quite...

In Wales, the principle of same-day open access is central to the national 10-year Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, launched in 2025. 20 demonstrator programmes have already been set up.

In England, open access services already exist in some locations for specific groups of people, such as adults with severe mental illness and young people. Many local Minds also operate an open access approach to make sure that people who reach out to them end up in the right place.

Now we need to see same-day open access rolled out across the system, across the country and for people with different levels of need.

Correct!

In Wales, the principle of same-day open access is central to the national 10-year Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, launched in 2025. 20 demonstrator programmes have already been set up. 

In England, open access services already exist in some locations for specific groups of people, such as adults with severe mental illness and young people. Many local Minds also operate an open access approach to make sure that people who reach out to them end up in the right place.

Now we need to see same-day open access rolled out across the system, across the country and for people with different levels of need.

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