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Birmingham and Solihull Mental health NHS Foundation Trust
Better Together
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Mental Health Support Offer

We have been working closely with Birmingham and Solihull CCG and our local partners to make sure we have the right mental health support for local people during the COVID19 pandemic. A new Mental Health Support offer is now in place offering emotional help, guidance and reassurance to people in Birmingham and Solihull who may be finding the current Coronavirus situation overwhelming.

A number of organisations are working together to deliver this new service including ourselves, Birmingham Mind, Forward Thinking Birmingham, the Living Well Consortium and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust. 

The support is available first and foremost through dedicated telephone lines and can be accessed by anyone who may need support. Those people with more complex mental health needs or higher levels of risk may then be referred to statutory services if necessary.

Self-help leaflets

The aim of the service is:

  • To support the public with worries and increased anxieties over COVID 19
  • To provide help for frontline and key workers through a dedicated helpline
  • To reduce pressure on the 111 service and A&E departments in acute hospitals
  • To reduce pressure on secondary mental health services
  • To reduce pressure on GPs

 

The table below shows how people can access the support, including opening hours and contact details. 

Group

Opening hours and contact details

Key workers including NHS staff

7 days a week (9am-11pm):

0121 663 1217

Over 18s in Birmingham and Solihull

7 days a week (9am-11pm):

0121 262 3555

0-18 year olds in Birmingham

7 days a week (10am-6pm):

0207 841 4470

askbeam@childrenssociety.org.uk

0-19 year olds in Solihull

Monday- Friday (8am-8pm):

0121 301 2750

Weekends and evenings (8pm-8am):

0121 301 5500

11-25 year olds in Solihull

Counselling and support 24/7:

www.kooth.com

This support offer is not replacing anything we already offer but complements our existing services.

As a service user, you may find some elements of the support offered helpful; for example, if you are feeling anxious as a result of the COVID19 pandemic or you have worries about debt or housing,

The mental health support may be useful to you as a carer if you are feeling anxious as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

You can access this offer. It is primarily aimed at those who are not currently in mental health services as it has been recognised that the current situation will heighten levels of anxiety among the general public.

If someone is triaged as having a more complex mental health need they will be referred to our services. 

This support offer has specific support for key workers including NHS staff through a dedicated helpline and you may find this beneficial.

The service aims to offer support with coping strategies, the effects of social isolation, easing worries around COVID-19, tackling loneliness, reducing relationship context and easing stress on key workers. The support you could be offered includes:

  • counselling on anxiety and depression
  • counselling with a trauma/PTSD focus (for keyworkers)
  • IAPT provision
  • community based mental health treatment and support 
  • solution focused therapy
  • practical advice and guidance on issues such as, housing and debt and signposting to relevant organisations
No referral is needed. You can access the support by calling the relevant telephone number in the above table.