Mental health support 111 Posted or Updated on 12 Sep 2024

People of all ages (children and adults) living in Derby and Derbyshire can now access 24-hour urgent mental health support directly via NHS 111.

Our local Derbyshire Mental Health Helpline and Support Service, managed by Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the charity P3, can now be accessed by calling 111 and selecting the ‘mental health option’, option 2.

Specially trained mental health staff will be available to speak to callers, discuss their urgent needs and assess the best way to support them, depending on their symptoms. This may be by offering emotional support or signposting to other services. If people have physically harmed themselves, or if their life is at immediate risk, then they should continue to call 999 or go to A&E.

This development is part of a national project to make it easier for people to contact the mental health support team in their local area, without having to remember or search for a helpline number.

For people who are Deaf or have hearing loss, the following link will enable them to connect to the helpline – NHS 111 – SignVideo. 

Local alternatives to the helpline and A&E include:

• Safe havens – open every night in Derby and Chesterfield

• Crisis drop-in services – open every weekend in Buxton, Ripley and Swadlincote.

Learn more about these on the help in a crisis page on the Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust website, or on the Derby and Derbyshire emotional health and wellbeing website.

Other options for people looking for less immediate mental health support include NHS talking therapies for adults; and the ChatHealth text messaging services for young people run by school nurses (during working hours) in Derbyshire and Derby city.

A person can also access NHS 111 online via 111.nhs.uk for physical health needs. DHCFT are currently working on a parity offer for mental health.