Mental health day opportunities: Part 2 - managers and staff feedback

Healthwatch Liverpool gathered feedback from 22 managers and staff working across four of Liverpool’s Mental Health Day Services providers in early 2025. Overall, respondents felt the services were delivering their purpose effectively, helping people maintain and improve their mental health through community-based support, social connection, practical activities and peer engagement. Staff emphasised the importance of person-centred support, co-production and creating safe environments where people can build confidence, reduce isolation and develop coping skills.

A major theme was increasing demand since the Covid-19 pandemic. Staff reported seeing more people with complex mental health needs, trauma, neurodiversity and wider social problems such as housing and financial difficulties. Despite this, funding and staffing levels were described as inadequate and unstable. Many highlighted the uncertainty of short-term funding arrangements and felt more resources would allow them to provide a wider range of activities, additional one-to-one support and better long-term planning. 

Staff generally described positive relationships with commissioners, community organisations and advice services, but more mixed relationships with statutory mental health services. Concerns were raised about inappropriate referrals, duplication of services and poor communication between organisations. Several respondents felt that voluntary sector providers were increasingly supporting people who were waiting for, unable to access or no longer eligible for NHS mental health services, despite not being funded to provide that level of specialist support. 

Healthwatch concluded that managers, staff and service users shared very similar priorities. Recommendations included increasing and stabilising funding, improving collaboration and referral pathways between organisations, reducing duplication of services, expanding training opportunities, creating a more coordinated “no wrong door” approach to accessing support, investing in additional staff capacity and recognising the crucial role that voluntary sector mental health services play in preventing crisis, supporting recovery and reducing pressure on statutory services.