The International Mental Health Benchmarking Project Resources
Reports, webinar recordings and presentations from the International Mental Health Benchmarking Project, in one place - covering our 2026 project and previous iterations.
Reports & Webinar recordings by year
Each project cycle's report, webinar recording and presentation slides, grouped together. Most recent first.
2026
International Mental Health Comparisons: Child & Adolescent, Adult & Older Adults Services
8 participating countries, one dataset. What international benchmarking tells us about the future of mental health care
Case Studies and Presentation Slides from the 2026 Findings Webinar
What countries gain from comparing notes, - Joe Donnelly, Senior Solutions & Partnerships Manager, NHS Benchmarking Network
Supporting Mental Health Service Renewal, Scotland - Stephen McLeod, Professional Advisor, Mental Health Directorate, Scottish Government
Application to System Performance Monitoring and Improvement Review - Ella Cullen, Director, Wellbeing System Leadership & Insights, Te Hiringa Mahara (Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission)
Other webinar recordings
Recordings and slides from webinars NHSBN has facilitated outside the international Benchmarking Project. Shown separately as they don's have a report to pair with the archive above.
International Eating Disorder Reflections from Stephen Watkins
Stephen Watkins - Associate Non-Executive Director, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust; former Director of NHS Benchmarking Network; 2024 Churchill Fellow
Catch up on this insightful session with Stephen Watkins, Associate Non‑Executive Director at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, former Director of NHS Benchmarking Network and 2024 Churchill Fellow, as he shares his international research on tackling the widening treatment gap in eating disorders care.
Drawing on decades of experience supporting national mental health policy through the NHS Benchmarking Network, Stephen’s recent fellowship took him to Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden to study how countries with established national strategies are improving access, strengthening early intervention, and embedding lived experience into service design. His findings highlight the stark contrast with the UK, where adult eating disorder services continue to operate without a national strategy despite rising prevalence and demand.
Stephen discusses what he learned from systems that have embraced clear political commitment, structured care pathways, digital therapy innovations, and culturally responsive approaches and how these insights could inform a transformative, achievable strategy for the UK.