Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps have been taken alongside local stakeholders to identify high-risk areas in Slough for the installation of (a) crisis messaging and (b) helpline information for suicide prevention.

We are committed to delivering the five-year cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy, which sets out over 100 actions to save lives. We will continue to explore opportunities to go further.

To strengthen access to urgent mental health support, anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now to speak to a trained National Health Service professional at any time of the day through the mental health option on NHS 111. Work is also underway to ensure crisis support is available via text, to widen access for people who may find voice calls difficult.

We are also making £473 million of capital funding available over the next four years, which we encourage systems to invest in new care models such as community-based mental health centres and new mental health emergency departments, also known as crisis assessment centres.

In Slough, local urgent and emergency care referral data, including referrals to Wexham Park for suicidal ideation and self-harm or overdose, helps inform the understanding of the local need for crisis and suicide prevention support. In the Slough area, Safe-Haven, run by Mental Health Matters working in partnership with the Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, supports people with suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm. Residents can walk in for access to one-to-one emotional support from trained mental health professionals.

Adults can also be referred to the East Berkshire Psychological Medicine service if they are being treated at an emergency department or have been admitted to hospital because of a mental health crisis or there is evidence of self-harm.

The Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team can also provide crisis response for people in a serious mental health problem or mental health crisis, and they have recently begun offering a crisis text service.