A Citywide Mission for Prevention

Driving change for a mentally healthier London through energy, action, and movement.

In 2023/24, Thrive LDN was invited by the Leaders’ Group to develop options for how the system could be rebalanced towards mental health prevention.

It is important to acknowledge that the health and social care system is not currently geared towards prevention and, whilst this option paper has considered many areas, our key line of enquiry has been to answer the ‘how’ – identifying potential routes to implementation and change, which acknowledge the current landscape and which are fair, sustainable and low-cost/ cost neutral.

Throughout development, we have engaged extensively across the health and social care system and with community groups and Londoners with lived experience. There is strong desire for a more preventative mental health system, support for greater regional coordination, and enthusiasm about the actions proposed. There is a need to harness the appetite for change.

The increased focus on prevention has come at a particularly opportune time. Thrive LDN recently published a new impact report reflecting on eight years of partnership working to build a global exemplar in public mental health.

Furthermore, in 2024/25 Thrive LDN begins three new partnerships, which together represent £25m of additional investment in public mental health in London. This demonstrates the huge potential to draw in additional investment from academia and philanthropy to create additional infrastructure for a more preventative mental health system, with further research bids awaiting responses and new partnerships, such as with Climate Cares Centre, developing.

We recognise the significant financial challenges across the public sector; there is not an ask for additional financial investment. The ask is for a clear mandate and continued leadership from Leaders’ Group for Thrive LDN to move forward with the options outlined and endorsement from Leaders’ Group for Thrive LDN to continue to diversify and grow alternate partnerships and income streams to foster an environment which values public mental health and prevention.

Following Leaders’ Group our next steps will be to focus on a more detailed mobilisation phase. This will include a detailed Equity Impact Assessment and programme/ project scoping exercise which will identify more detailed outcomes aligned to individual programmes/ projects.