Demands On Capital Mental Health Crisis Centre On The Rise

A crisis centre set up last year to help people with mental health issues is experiencing a rise in people using the service.

The Edinburgh Crisis Centre offers both phone advice and face-to-face appointments for people aged 18 and over.

Funded by the council, NHS Lothian and a variety of other agencies, the centre also hopes in future to provide safe accommodation for up to seven nights. Experienced mental health care workers man the phones 365 days a year, specialising in providing instant advice.

Centre manager Jacquie Watt said the steady increase in people using the service since it was set-up last year proved it was a worthy addition to the health service. She said: “Working in partnership with users and carers continues to bring a richness of experience to the project and make this an exciting and rewarding project to be involved in.

“Wider partnerships with ethnic minority and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equalities groups working in Edinburgh have enabled us to develop practical action plans to address the barriers that may prevent people from contacting us.”