Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to create a national emergency helpline for mental health which is separate from the NHS 111 service.
We have no plans to do so. Currently, all National Health Service mental health providers in England have 24 hours a day, seven days a week all-age urgent mental health helplines available, which provide access to trained mental health professionals for those experiencing a mental health crisis or those concerned for someone who may be experiencing such a crisis. By 2023/24, we aim to enable individuals to select a mental health option via NHS 111 to reach a local specialist NHS urgent mental health service.