What to Do in a Mental Health Emergency or Crisis – for Autistic People

Emergencies

If you or someone else is at immediate risk of serious harm or danger , for any reason, including their mental health, you must contact the Emergency Services.

You can either:

Phone 999 or 111
Get the person at risk to an accident and emergency (A&E) department at a hospital

Note: not all hospitals have A&E, so check first if you are not sure

If you can’t do this by yourself, ask someone to help you.

Urgent or crisis situations

If you or someone else is not at immediate risk of harm but there are urgent concerns about their mental health, contact the Central Access Point (CAP).

This is the NHS telephone service that provides mental health crisis support for people who live in Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland

The CAP number is: 0808 800 3302

Suicide

If you or someone else is at immediate risk of trying to kill themselves, follow the advice about emergencies above.

For less urgent advice on suicide, please follow these links:

Autism Space- Autism and suicide
Samaritans- Advice on what to do if you feel like you might want to kill yourself
Mind- Advice on how to support someone who has suicidal feelings
Samaritans- Advice on how to support someone who has suicidal feelings

Neighbourhood Mental Health Cafes

The Neighbourhood Mental Health Cafes (previously called Crisis Cafes) are part of Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust’s local support for people who need immediate help with their mental health.

The cafes are drop-in centres for anyone to come and talk about their mental health – no appointment needed. There are supportive, trained staff there who can listen and provide the practical support you need.

Click here to find your nearest neighbourhood mental health cafe