Published on: 1 July 2020
Derbyshire’s mental support health line, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to offer support and guidance to residents of all ages, has moved to a new Freephone number to encourage more people to speak up and seek help.
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the organisation that manages the support line, has announced that from 1 July 2020, the service is to continue with the new Freephone number of 0800 028 0077.
The service, staffed by mental health professionals, supports people who are experiencing the following:
- Increased distress or anxiety as a result of current events
- Reduced contact with our services
- A need for longer-term help – for example by signposting to IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapy) services.
The support line, which is available between the hours of 9am and midnight every day, has been updated to the free 0800 number to ensure that cost is not an impediment to people receiving support. The line is open to Derbyshire residents of all ages.
Positive feedback
The feedback that the Trust has received about the support line to date has been extremely positive, with comments including:
- “Your mental health support line is incredible. I’ve told all mental health professionals involved with me to recommend this to others. It has positively surprised me so much. Thank you”
- “I am very impressed with how highly responsive the service is and the expertise of the staff involved”
- “I was struggling and feeling overwhelmed caring for my wife. I found the helpline helpful. The person who I spoke with was great and really understanding of the problem”
- “In these strange times I can’t think of any way this service could improve. Thank you for being there.”
In addition, 90% of callers who responded to a survey said they were ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to recommend the service to others.
Trust Chief Executive Ifti Majid said: “We fully appreciate how the period during the Coronavirus pandemic has proven to be a very difficult time for many people, with increasing anxiety and distress relating to the changes in everyday life for individuals and those in our care.
“We are pleased that the support line has been such a resounding success and that we have been able to make a difference and support patients and public at this time. We hope to help even more people by now moving over to a Freephone number.”
Residents can learn more about the mental health support line by visiting www.derbyshirehealthcareft.nhs.uk/support-line.
