Improving mental health urgent and emergency care services
We're making some changes to crisis support services so that people in Sussex can get the right help at the right time with their mental health. This is in response to the significant need in our communities following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The impact of the pandemic on our mental health
Many people who lost family members to Covid-19 had to grieve alone during periods of lockdown, others lost their jobs or were isolated with an abusive partner and young people were cut off from their friends and social networks, missing out on significant periods of their education, when the schools closed.
Nationally, it is forecast that 10 million people in England will need support for their mental health over the next five years as a direct result of the pandemic.
The situation in Sussex
An estimated 220,000 people in Sussex (around 13% of the population) are believed to have a common mental health disorder.
There has been a 15% increase in the number of people referred by A&E departments to the Mental Health Liaison Teams (MHLTs) for assessment from 2019 to 2023.
People who need to be admitted to hospital are having to wait longer in A&E, or in the community, for a hospital bed to become available. There are also delays in patients being discharged from hospital because they need ongoing support in the community.
And the number of calls to NHS 111 'select the mental health option' - a 24-hour crisis mental health line - from people who need help with their mental health - continues to increase.
The increase in need in our community is having a knock-on effect on the emergency services in Sussex. For example, the police are often called to A&E to support people in a mental health crisis and the ambulance service is responding to a higher number of calls to help people in mental distress.
Improving mental health urgent and emergency care services
Our aim is to make sure that people can access timely and appropriate help with their mental health. This will improve outcomes for individuals and help to reduce the current pressure on A&E, the police, ambulance and other services.
This requires a collaborative approach between partner organisations, including Sussex Partnership, Sussex Police, SECAmb, acute hospitals, voluntary, community and social enterprise providers (VCSE) as well as service users and their families, carers and supporters.
To better support people who are experiencing a mental health crisis, we have:
- Established mental health liaison teams within the A&E departments at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, Conquest Hospital in Hastings, Princess Royal in Haywards Heath, Worthing Hospital and Eastbourne General Hospital and St Richard's Hospital in Chichester.
- Worked with voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) partners to transform Staying Well into an open-access mental health crisis support service. Staying Well is available in Brighton, Crawley, Eastbourne, Hastings and Worthing.
- Established a range of services as alternatives to A&E, including five Havens across Sussex. These are dedicated mental health crisis assessment facilities for adults over 18 in East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove.
- Launched the Rapid Response service to support the emergency services when dealing with a person in mental distress to ensure they receive timely and appropriate help. Read more about the Rapid Response service.
- Implemented 'NHS 111, select mental health option' in Sussex in November 2022 as a first line of support for people experiencing a self-defined mental health crisis.
- Launched 'Text SUSSEX to 85258' to provide a digital way for people to get help with their mental health.
- Worked with NHS, local authority and VCSE partners to develop new mental health signposting information and a campaign called 'How Are You Really Feeling?' to support people to find and access the right help for their mental health.
A new Rapid Response service has been launched in Sussex to support the emergency services when they are responding to a person in mental distress to ensure they receive timely and appropriate help.
A dedicated phone number - called the Blue Light Line - has been set up for emergency services personnel, including Sussex Police and South East Coast Ambulance Service, and the others such as the Beachy Head Chaplains, to call for advice and support.
This includes over-the-phone assessments and advice about the most appropriate service or place of safety for the person to receive further support, such as a Staying Well service or Haven. Mental health practitioners are also available between midday and midnight to provide on-scene support to a person in mental distress.
Mental health response vehicles have been specifically designed to meet the needs of people in mental distress and will enable the Rapid Response practitioners to assess people on scene, and, where appropriate, convey them on to another location.
We are working with the Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Teams to establish a new clinical model across Sussex, which includes rapid assessment and therapeutic home treatment both to prevent the need for a hospital admission and support patients to be discharged from hospital.
We are continuing to optimise the five Havens across Sussex to provide urgent crisis care, including as an alternative to hospital admission. We are also working with partners to develop their use as health-based places of safety as alternatives to A&E for people who are awaiting a mental health assessment having been detained by the police under S136 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Building on the success of the Recovery House in East Sussex, our focus is to support the increase of Recovery Bed capacity across the county. In West Sussex this includes working alongside the VCSE provider to establish dedicated short-term beds for step-up and step-down support to prevent the need for admission to hospital and support people discharged from hospital in their recovery journey.
We are working with local authorities and other partners to identify solutions for improving housing for people with mental health needs as this is often a contributor to someone experiencing a mental health crisis and can also prevent timely discharge from hospital. This is part of the new mental health Discharge to Assess (D2A) initiative to provide supported housing services for people who are ready to leave hospital but need ongoing assessment and support.
Do you need help with your mental health?
Feeling unable to cope and need help with your mental health? There's lots of ways you can get support. Find out about how to get help with your mental health in Sussex.