Petition · Department of Health and Social Care

Increase funding for NHS counsellors and review current referral pathways

Open for signatures 53 signatures

What the petition asks

I want referral pathways from GPs for mental health issues to be reviewed, and improved. There is a need for a robust recruitment drive for actual counsellors and specialists in the NHS, and for better observance of the principle that mental health should be treated like physical health.
I recently lost my son - he and many thousands of people are suffering living with only limited access to the correct help they require, a lot of people are contacting services which can only help the scars, not the problems. There is a grave lack of counselling in the NHS & there needs to be a robust recruitment drive. An improvement is needed for pathways to be accessible from GPs. It’s needed now!

Timeline

20 Feb 2026 Petition opened for signatures

Key facts

Signatures 53
Status Open for signatures
Department Department of Health and Social Care
Opened 20 Feb 2026

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 26 Jul 2026.