'Andy Burnham's huge mental health pledge should take strain off hospitals'

'Andy Burnham's huge mental health pledge should take strain off hospitals' A raft of new mental health centres are to open in libraries, banks and other high street locations across England to get people “support earlier closer to home”, the Government has announced Andy Burnham’s pledge of 159 new NHS mental health centres and emergency departments is step towards something prime ministers have promised for years. Putting mental and physical health on the same footing. For some, ignoring a cold can lead to pneumonia and a hospital bed. Many minor conditions, treatable by a GP, can turn into lifelong chronic conditions if neglected. Similarly, many mental health problems start as relatively minor complaints, which these new walk-in centres can help with. That should take the strain off hospital NHS mental health services. Tackling problems before they grow into crises should ease pressure on police and other emergency services. It’s also welcome that Mr Burnham recognises younger people are in a wider epidemic of mental health problems, rather than leaning into the myth of a “snowflake generation”. Feed poor kids Any child going hungry in one of the richest countries in the world is nothing less than obscene. Yet new research find nearly a quarter of families with a toddler experience food poverty. The Mirror has long campaigned for free school meals to be made universal. Children learn more when they're fed well, and anything that can be done to make life easier for struggling families should be high on the new PM's agenda. And researchers want them to be made available to pre-school children living in poverty too. Children can't control their circumstances. They can't influence whether their families are in poverty, or have come to live in this country from somewhere else. They're children. It's manifestly unfair that some will have a better start to life than others, for the cost of a meal. Elunar landing So Elon Musk has crashed a rocket into the moon. All he needs to do now is shave his head, buy a cat and attach lasers to some sharks and his transition into Dr Evil will be complete.