Emergency Contacts

Our service operates within working hours and we are not able to respond to crises.
If you need urgent support please use one of the emergency services below.

Emergency Services

  • Police – 0845 60 70 999, in an emergency dial 999
  • Samaritans – (24hr Helpline) 0845 790 9090
  • NSPCC – (24hr Helpline) 0800 800 5000
  • Childline – (24hr Helpline) 0800 1111
  • Victim Support – 0845 303 0900
  • Rape Crisis – www.rapecrisis.org.uk
  • Papyrus HOPEline UK – 0800 068 41 41, www.papyrus-uk.org
    (Support for those dealing with suicide, depression or emotional distress – particularly teenagers and young people.)
  • Depression Alliance – Mon-Fri 1pm-5pm 0845 123 23 20, www.depressionalliance.org
  • Cruse Bereavement Care – 0844 477 9400, www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk
  • Sussex Mental Healthline - 0300 5000 101 5pm-9am Monday - Friday. Weekends and bank holidays 24 hours
  • Kent Mental Healthline - 0800 107 0160 available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, free from landlines.

East Sussex Mental Health Directory of Support

People in crisis and suicide prevention

Feeling unable to cope, worried you may hurt yourself or somebody else and/or experiencing suicidal feelings?

For immediate help

If your life - or someone else's life - is in immediate danger, please call 999 or go to A&E.

For same or next day help

You can get support with your mental health in different ways depending on what you prefer. All services are free.

Phone 111 and chose 'mental health' (free phone 24/7)

If you or someone else is experiencing a mental health crisis, the NHS 111 'mental health option' is there to offer support and get help if needed.

For callers whose first language is not English, a telephone interpreter can be arranged for other community languages, by phoning the helpline and letting them know the language needed.

During busy periods, you may need to wait for someone to answer your call.

Visit a Staying Well crisis café

Staying Well provides a support service for adults over 18 experiencing distress due to their mental health, during evenings and weekends when other support may be unavailable.

Phone 0800 023 6475 and choose option 1 for Eastbourne, or 2 for Hastings St Leonards, or use the Staying Well website for further information on opening times.

Text Shout Sussex service

By texting the word SUSSEX to 85258, you can access a free, confidential, 24/7 service and have a text conversation with a trained volunteer. The volunteers offer real-time support if you are anxious, stressed, depressed, suicidal or overwhelmed, and can signpost to local services. You may prefer this to speaking on the phone.

Download the Stay Alive App 

This is a suicide prevention resource full of useful information and tools to help you stay safe in crisis.

For urgent mental health support

Call 999 or go to A&E if you do not feel you can keep yourself or someone else safe. A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a physical one.

Two East Sussex hospitals have an A&E department.

  • Conquest Hospital – The Ridge, St Leonards-on-Sea, TN37 7RD
  • Eastbourne District General Hospital – Kings Drive, Eastbourne, BN21 2UD

 

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