North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust is now offering 24/7 mental health support for all adults and young people in North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent by text, with a free text messaging service.
Chat to a mental health professional, at any time of the day or night, by sending a text to 07312 263117.
The service can provide text-based crisis intervention, emotional support, and signposting to appropriate resources or services, discretely and privately.
The service is tailored to mental health support, ensuring that the support provided is appropriate, understanding, and compassionate. There is no need to speak to anyone on the phone or wait for an appointment — just text when you’re in need of support.
Support is available via text message across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, as Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) have also launched a service for people in South Staffordshire. Read more about the launch of both services by clicking here.
We might inform someone if we are concerned about your safety, but we would usually speak to you about this first. Your messages are stored and can be seen by other health care staff who follow the same confidentiality rules.
This service operates 24 hours a day including weekends and bank holidays and we aim to reply to you within four hours. You should get an immediate message back to confirm we have received your text. If you need help before you hear back from us, contact your doctor, call NHS 111 option 2, or visit 111.nhs.uk. If it is an emergency, dial 999 or visit A&E.
Our text number does not receive voice calls or MMS picture messages. We support messaging from UK mobile numbers only (which does not include messages sent from landlines, international mobile numbers and some ‘number masking’ mobile apps). To prevent the health professional from sending messages to you, text STOP to our number. Messages are charged at your usual rates.
