From 1 December, people of all ages in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin will be able to access our local crisis services directly by calling 111 and selecting the mental health option. Calls will be answered by an NHS 111 call handler, and then if appropriate diverted to the local Mental Health Access Team (accessed directly via 0808 196 4501). This number (0808 196 4501) will remain accessible for people already familiar with it, however, we will no longer promote this number after April 2024.

From April 2024, people of all ages in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin will be able to access our local crisis services directly by calling 111 and selecting the mental health option. Calls will be answered by a trained mental health professional who will be able to quickly assess the situation and determine whether an urgent referral is required.

Please spread the word about this to your colleagues and networks and use the below visuals and messages that form this communications toolkit to promote the new access number for mental health crisis care support:

• Information for patients (Website copy)
• Social media copy
• Social media assets
• Campaign poster
• Email banner

To make it as easy as possible, most of this you can just copy and paste and use it without editing. It’s for use by partner organisations, GP Practices, Pharmacies, and other public facing environments.

If you have any questions about NHS 111 ‘select mental health option’, please email the Communication team at stw.communications@nhs.net