Staff handling the calls will be able to organise face-to-face community support for patients or guide them to other services (Image: PA Wire/PA Images) In a landmark move, the NHS has today declared that millions of patients in dire need of mental health assistance can now seek help through the 111 service. The expansion of NHS 111 to include mental health support for individuals of all ages, including children, has been met with approval from health chiefs. However, they have also expressed grave concerns about the high levels of unmet demand for mental health services.
This initiative positions England's NHS as one of the first in the world to provide a comprehensive mental health crisis response via a single phone line, accessible 24/7. This is a significant shift from the previous system where local health services operated their own distinct helplines, which during the pandemic received approximately 200,000 calls each month. Government officials have touted this development as part of their "plans to help fix the broken health system".
Starting Tuesday, those in England facing a mental health emergency, or worried about someone else, can dial 111 and choose the mental health option to connect with a trained professional. function loadOvpScript(){let el=document.createElement('script');el.
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