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In case of a Crisis or Emergency
Following resources can provide you with immediate help

If you are in a crisis, or if you or any other person may be in danger then the below resources can provide you with immediate help.

For all serious medical emergencies (including mental health emergencies), your options for getting face-to-face medical help quickly are:

  • Accident & Emergency (A&E)
  • Emergency GP appointments

Remember: If you don’t feel you need to go to A&E, but you need medical help or advice fast and can’t wait for an emergency GP appointment, you can call NHS 111 (in England) or NHS Direct(0845 46 47 in Wales).

Accident & Emergency (A&E)

A&E departments are where the most serious and urgent medical emergencies are treated. If you’re experiencing a mental health emergency, it’s absolutely vital to take it as seriously as you would if you had a physical health emergency.

When should I use this service?

When you feel unable to keep yourself safe and you need immediate help – especially if you think you are at risk of acting on suicidal thoughts, or you have seriously harmed yourself and need medical attention.

How can it help me?

If your A&E has a psychiatric liaison team, they can:

  • Make an initial assessment of your mental health needs (sometimes called a psychiatric evaluation).
  • Keep you safe for the short-term.
  • Prescribe medication to you help cope with some symptoms you may be experiencing right now.
  • Put you in contact with other crisis services, such as your local crisis resolution and home treatment (CRHT) team, if appropriate

If there is no psychiatric liaison team, the A&E staff can call a local on-call mental health service to assess you, such as the CRHT team, though they may take a while to arrive.

Based on this assessment the care team will decide whether you can go home (sometimes being supported by the local CRHT team), or if you need to be admitted to hospital.

How can I access this service?

You can:

  • Take yourself directly there (if it’s too far to walk you could take public transport, call a taxi, or ask a friend to give you a lift).
  • Call 999 if you need an ambulance.

Remember: A&E can be a difficult place to be in. If you can, ask a friend or family member to go along with you for some extra support. You might have to wait a while before a doctor can see you, so it can be helpful to have someone waiting with you.

 

Emergency GP appointments

Your local GP surgery should be able to offer you an appointment to see a doctor quickly in an emergency.

When should I use this service?

When you need urgent support for your mental health, but you feel able to keep yourself safe for a short while until your appointment.

How can it help me?

An emergency doctor at your regular GP practice can:

  • Access your medical notes, so you shouldn’t need to explain your medical history from scratch
  • Make referrals if you both decide that you need more support right now to help you deal with the crisis you’re going through – for example to a CRHT team or potentially for hospital admission
  • Provide information and advice, for example about any other local services which you could access yourself
  • Prescribe or adjust medication, which might help you cope with some symptoms you’re experiencing.

An emergency appointment is likely to be with the next available doctor, so depending on the size of your GP practice, you might not be able to see your regular GP in an emergency. But it’s a good idea to make a follow-up appointment with your regular GP for as soon as possible after seeing an emergency GP, so they can:

  • Help you put into practice self-management techniques that have worked for you in the past.
  • Plan to see you more regularly while you’re feeling in crisis, so they can adjust your treatment if anything changes.
  • Also, if your regular GP is someone you have a good relationship with, you might find it very reassuring in a crisis to have an appointment to see them as well.
Other Helpful Resources
Samaritans – 116 123        jo@samaritans.org

Rape Crisis – 0808 802 9999

Women’s Aid – 0808 2000 247