NHS 111 will now provide direct support to patients experiencing a mental health crisis, NHS England has announced.
The service expansion announced today means that patients can now call 111, select the mental health option and speak to a mental health professional if they are in a crisis.
NHS staff will then guide them through the next steps, including ‘facilitating access’ to other services or organising face-to-face support.
For patients who need to go to A&E, every emergency department in England now also has ‘a liaison psychiatric team’ which will offer specialist care, NHS England added.
Previously, local health systems had their own separate phone lines, which were fast-tracked during the pandemic and took around 200,000 calls per month, according to the commissioner.
NHS England director for mental health Claire Murdoch said the service will provide specialist mental health support and ensure patients can also be offered face-to-face support ‘in a safe environment’.
She said: ‘We know that record numbers of people are suffering with their mental health, and we want to ensure that when people are in crisis, they have easy, straightforward access to the support they need.
‘While the NHS made significant progress during the pandemic with local services creating their own crisis phone lines, we want to go a step further by giving people everywhere in England one single point of access via NHS 111.
‘And in doing so, I am extremely proud that we will become one of the first countries in the world to offer a free universal package of support to people through one easy to access phone line.’
Primary care minister Stephen Kinnock said that the Government wants to ensure mental health is given ‘the same attention and focus as physical health’.
He added: ‘For the first time, there is one number you can call whether you are feeling physically unwell or worried about your mental health to access the support you might need.
‘Separately, we are prioritising mental health by recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment alongside reforming the Mental Health Act.’
NHS Confederation director of policy Dr Layla McCay that the expansion of the service ‘can reduce pressures’ on other parts of the system, including general practice.
She said: ‘We know from some well-established 111 services that providing mental health crisis support not only offers an easier way for people to access the services they need, but can also reduce pressure on other parts of the system such as GP services, ambulances and A&Es.
‘Incorporating mental health support into existing 111 services may also reduce stigma and could encourage more people to come forward.
‘But with long waits for mental health treatment, we need to make sure that providers are given the right resources to boost capacity and care for the people who come forward requiring treatment.’
Earlier this year, the BMA warned that general practice and community services ‘are too overstretched’ to work effectively together to support mental health patients.
GPs are having to provide mental health support ‘above their competence’, while mental health services are under unprecedented pressures.
And the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman warned that the safety of mental health patients is being put at risk when they are discharged from inpatient services.
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Don’t tell me..”advised to book an appointment with GP within 24 hours”
Spot on AB. It’ll be a predictable universal outcome: “selected service – GP”