Mental Health Helpline and Links
Mrs Barber is Ivy Bank's Mental Health First Aider and has a wealth of knowledge on resources and support groups. She is contactable on kbarber@ivybank.cheshire.sch.uk
If you have a safeguarding concern linked to mental health, please contact Mrs Gill as safeguarding lead on head@ivybank.cheshire.sch.uk
Below are links to charities and support groups:
- SANE runs a national, out of hours mental health helpline offering specialist mental health support to anyone affected by mental illness, including the family, friends and carers. Contact via: 0300 304 7000. Please visit their website at: www.sane.org.uk
- Mind offer advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. Please visit their website at: www.mind.org.uk/information-support
- Young Minds is the UK’s leading charity fighting for children and young people's mental health. Parenting isn’t always easy. Although it’s often amazing and rewarding to watch your children grow, and to help them learn to be independent, it can also be really hard work. Please visit their website at: www.youngminds.org.uk
- The Sleep Council is an impartial organisation that looks at how you can adopt healthier sleep habits and focuses on raising awareness of a good night’s sleep to health and wellbeing. Please visit their website at: www.sleepcouncil.org.uk
- Kids Health offer doctor-reviewed advice on hundreds of physical, emotional, and behavioural topics. Please visit their website at: www.kidshealth.org
- Just Drop In, Cheshire East and the NHS have produced support for Responding to self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviours during the Corona (COVID 19) outbreak.
Attached is a one-page summary for parents and carers. Should your child express thoughts of self-harm or suicide there are resources are available from YoungMinds to support you https://youngminds.org.uk/ or you can call them on 0808 802 5544. You can also get additional advice and guidance by contacting your local Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS)
NSPCC Learning also has an extensive library of resources which can help parents, carers and professionals to support children’s mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak.
https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/2020/april/supporting-children-young-people-mental-health
Mental Health Helpline - 0300 303 3972
Local NHS Trust, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP), has launched a new mental health helpline for residents of Cheshire West, Cheshire East and Wirral.
Open 24 hours a day, seven-days a week, it is open to people of all ages including children and young people who need urgent mental health support.
What to do if you need urgent mental health help:
- Please call 0300 303 3972 and our dedicated local NHS staff will support you to access the help you need;
- The helpline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is open to people of all ages – including children and young people;
- The helpline is now the first port of call for mental health help – it is operated by people in your local area who will know how best to support you. If you call NHS111 you may have to wait longer for help and will be re-directed to this local service – so call 0300 303 3972;
- Please note, A&E and 999 are not the best places to get help for the majority of mental health problems – call 0300 303 3972 to be directed to the best local service to support you;
- You should still call 999 or go to A&E if you have an immediate, life-threatening emergency requiring mental or physical health assistance;
- For non-urgent help and general wellbeing advice, the CWP website contains information and links to resources to support people with anxiety, low mood, and worries relating to the current Covid-19 pandemic www.cwp.nhs.uk
- For children and young people there is also a dedicated website MyMind.org.uk