Information for patients and carers

Information for patients and carers

Crisis support

How to get help in a mental health crisis.

A mental health crisis means you are very stressed and worried.

  • You might want to hurt yourself, or someone else. 
  • You might hear strange voices.
  • You might feel that people are watching you or want to hurt you.

If you want, you can tell someone you trust. This might be someone from your family or a friend.

They can help you decide what to do. 

If you need urgent help but it isn't an emergency

If you need urgent help for your mental health, but it's not an emergency:

  • Call 0800 731 2864 and choose option 1 to speak to our local mental health crisis line.Tell us if you need an interpreter. We can connect you to local mental health services, including our crisis support teams and peer support services.
     
  • Call 111 or get help from NHS 111 online
     
  • Check out ways to help yourself cope during a crisis from the mental health charity Mind

If you are in contact with one of our mental health services

Check your crisis plan, if you have one, and:

Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

Contact your care coordinator or the duty number for the team that is supporting you.

If you don't have their details, visit our services. 

If you are not an adult, visit urgent help for children, young people and families

At other times

  • Call 0800 731 2864 and choose option 1 to speak to our local mental health crisis line.Tell us if you need an interpreter. We can connect you to local mental health services, including our crisis support teams and peer support services.
     
  • Call 111 or get help from NHS 111 online
     
  • Call Solidarity in a Crisis, the out of hours peer support service for Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, 0300 123 1922. They are open Monday to Friday from 6pm to 12 midnight, and Saturday and Sunday from midday to midnight.
     
  • Check out ways to help yourself cope during a crisis from the mental health charity Mind

If you need less urgent help

Don’t suffer in silence. Get help. You could:

Crisis contacts for health and social care professionals

Emergency services and out of hours: contact our Acute Referral Centre on 020 3228 6272

During office hours contact your local assessment and liaison team:

Lambeth
Our assessment and liaison team has been replaced with Lambeth Single Point of Access
Email: lambethspa@slam.nhs.uk
Call: 0800 090 2456

Lewisham

Emai: LewishamPsychiatricLiaisonTeam@slam.nhs.uk
Call: 020 3228 9200

Croydon
Email: CroydonCentralAssessmentandLiaisonTeam@slam.nhs.uk
Call: 020 32280365

Southwark North (Maudsley Hospital)
Email: SouthwarkNorthAssessmentandLiaisonTeam@slam.nhs.uk
Call: 020 3228 9454

Our crisis leaflets - including translations

Our borough crisis leaflets, self-harm leaflet and crisis poster

Crisis leaflet Croydon (PDF)

Crisis leaflet Lambeth (PDF)

Crisis leaflet Lewisham (PDF)

Crisis leaflet Southwark (PDF)

Self-harm (PDF)

Crisis line poster (PDF)

Easier read and large print leaflets

Brief crisis leaflet

Translated leaflets

Crisis brief Albanian (PDF)

Crisis brief Arabic (PDF)

Crisis brief Farsi (PDF)

Crisis brief French (PDF)

Crisis brief Polish (PDF)

Crisis brief Portugese (PDF)

Crisis brief Somali (PDF)

Crisis brief Spanish (PDF)

Crisis brief Tamil (PDF)

Crisis brief Turkish (PDF)

If you or someone else is in danger

If you or someone else is in danger, call 999 or go to A&E now. There are specialist mental health teams in A&E that can support you and refer you to other services.

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