SAMH: Scotland’s first walk-in mental health hubs aim to cut waiting times

Scotland’s largest mental health charity has unveiled plans for a £10m network of walk-in support centres.

The initiative, called The Nook, will create Scotland’s first free mental health hubs, designed to tackle the long waits many face through the NHS.

For 21-year-old Fatemah Ghanem, who has been living with mental health challenges since childhood, the barriers to accessing support have been overwhelming.

She told STV News: “I was starting to struggle with my mental health, feeling more withdrawn from people around me, not wanting to engage much, and feeling a lot of low mood.”

But getting the right help was far from straightforward.

Fatemah added: “Every time I felt like I needed support, I felt I wasn’t ready for it because of the barriers of the whole process, like speaking to a GP, going through the referral, and waiting times. I felt that would take years.”

It’s exactly those barriers that SAMH, Scottish Action for Mental Health, is hoping to remove.

Still under construction, The Nook will offer immediate, drop-in support, with no referrals, waiting lists or appointments.

Judith Deacons, senior product manager at SAMH, said: “Rather than having consultation rooms, we are moving away from that clinical language. We’re going to have ‘snugs’ – spaces where people can have private one-to-ones with our practitioners.

“What makes The Nook different isn’t just that support is free and walk-in, it’s how the space feels. It’s designed to make asking for help less intimidating, so people can step inside, feel safe, and begin their journey to better mental health.”

Every aspect of the hub, from the colours to furniture, has been chosen to reduce anxiety.

Designer Finni Porter-Chambers said: “I think it’s really important to think about climate anxiety and we’ve put sustainability as the main focus.

“We’ve used upcycled gym flooring on one end, lots of vintage pieces, just to ensure people’s climate anxiety is reduced. Especially for young people, it’s important to acknowledge that in the design.”

SAMH says demand for mental health support in parts of Scotland has risen by 700% and that a new approach is urgently needed.

Billy Watson, CEO of SAMH, said: “Much of the data we are looking at in terms of the mental health crisis in Scotland is unprecedented, so it’s time for organisations to step up and take action.

“We hope to do that and take the evidence of providing early and better mental health outcomes back to the government and health boards, who in the long term should look at this model and replicate it everywhere.”

The first Nook hub will open in Glasgow later this year, with more planned across Scotland.