A research centre set up to assess psychiatric services needs help from the one in four Croydon residents suffering from mental health problems.

The Service User Research Enterprise (SURE), in Camberwell, is looking for people to help with its research.

The centre, run by the South London and Mandsley NHS Trust (SLaM), aims to bring together academics, healthcare professionals and service users so they can work together to identify where improvements can be made.

Around one quarter of people in Croydon suffer with mental health problems, according to recent statistics released by SLaM. However, these rates are reflected across much of England.

Professor Graham Thornicroft, consultant psychiatrist at the Tamworth Road Resource Centre says the most common forms of mental health problems are depression, panic attacks, phobias and obsession.

He explained: “These conditions are treatable.

“There are mental health services all over Croydon ready to help. It is very important that people ask for help and usually the first point of contact is their GP.” Call 020 7848 5104 if you are interested in getting involved in the SURE project.