Dear Mr Jones

I write in response to your Regulation 28 report dated 23 January 2025 raising your concern about the availability and accessibility of 24hour support for those experiencing mental ill- health. I am grateful to you for raising your concern and sharing the evidence you heard during the Inquest touching the tragic death of Harry Southern, particular the experience of his father.

Firstly, I wish to offer my sincere condolences to Harry's family and friends. I recognise that the Inquest into Harry's death must have been extremely difficult for Harry's family, and I hope that the Inquest, coupled with this response, will provide them with answers, as well as assurances as to the improvements made since October 2023.

I understand that you are concerned about calls to the Trust's mental health helplines being unanswered and the accessibility and adequacy of telephone helplines for those with hearing or other difficulties, and for young people whose preference is more likely to be the use of other communication means, such as social media and apps.

I also understand that you heard evidence about the Sussex Mental Health Line (SMHL) and the review of that service, due to the difficulties it was facing, because of staffing shortages and, consequently, that it was, at times, not possible for all calls to be answered, resulting in callers receiving a comfort message and signposting to other support services. I am informed that you also heard evidence about the alternative Trust helpline, namely, the Mental Health Rapid Response Service and how Harry had successfully used the service in June 2023, yet, at the time of the Inquest, in November 2024, the functionality of that service was also under review to ensure effective and sustainable community care.

Unfortunately, there remains very significant demand, in Sussex, from callers seeking mental health support, via our helplines, and we know that there remains a gap between that very significant number of callers and the resource available to meet their needs. For context, it should be noted that, when measured against other healthcare systems in the South-East, Sussex receives more than double the number of calls received by Hampshire

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and the Isle of Wight, and nearly three and a half times more than Surrey. To further contextualise, in the period from April to December 2024, Sussex received 15,721 more calls than Surrey, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight put together.

By way of assurance, many actions have already been taken and continue to be taken to improve the accessibility of helpline support in Sussex. Following completion of the SMHL review you heard about during the Inquest, immediate actions have focused on recruitment, working patterns and productivity. Additionally, the gap between demand and financial resource has been formally raised with the Trust's commissioners, NHS Sussex, and ongoing improvement of the SMHL is a key objective within the 2025/6 annual plan.

In relation to alternative support, I am pleased to say that the Trust has now launched the New Neighbourhood Mental Health teams that you also heard about during the Inquest. As they are multi-agency teams they enable improved access to the breadth of services, be that NHS or voluntary sector services, to provide the best and most accessible support for those experiencing mental ill-health. I know that the importance of working collaboratively was heard throughout Harry's Inquest as he was also receiving support from his GP, a private counsellor and had third sector input too. The new Neighbourhood teams support a co-ordinated approach to ensure all system agency partners are aware of exactly what is available across, what is recognised as being a complex mix of primary and secondary healthcare as well as vital voluntary sectors.

I absolutely recognise, as you say, that not everyone wants or is able to use, telephone contact and the Trust has been pro-actively working with system partners to develop new and consistent online mental health signposting information to make it easier for people to find help. The new online information, which categorises services based on how a person may be feeling, was launched in July 2024 and is promoted by a wide range of NHS, primary care, local authority and voluntary sector partners. Details can be found on the Trust's public website here: Getting help with your mental health :: Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

An additional service which is now regularly promoted by both the Trust and partner organisations, including campaigns which are targeted specifically at students, is 'Text SUSSEX to 85258'. It is a digital means for people to access help with their mental health. The service, which is delivered through the national text messaging service Shout, is free and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Over the last 18 months, the Staying Well service, which you heard some detail about during Harry's Inquest, has also been transformed into an open access service to provide support to people who are experiencing a self-defined mental health crisis, as an alternative to attending A&E. It is an out-of-hours crisis support service which is co-delivered by voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) providers and the Trust has worked with those VCSE partners to rebrand and promote Staying Well, and increase the hours it is available, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of people attending in person.

All the aforementioned collaborative, partner working is part of the national strategy to improve community and crisis services to deliver more mental health crisis care in the community, close to people’s homes, through new models of care and support which is key to the long-term sustainability of the NHS. The aim being to improve accessibility of mental health support, not by focusing on improving helplines etc, but by having a range of accessible options which, collectively provide access to local support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I note that you copied your report to the Secretary of State for Health in recognition that your concern may be a national one. I understand that he is not required to formally respond to your report, so I wanted to highlight a Regulation 28 response that his Department of Health & Social Care provided last week, to your Senior Coroner, Penelope Schofield, as it also covered the national plan regarding accessibility of community crisis care. Baroness Marron's response confirmed the national plan to deliver the '24/7 Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre model' so that 'people with mental health needs can walk in or self-refer as can their loved ones and system partners'. Additionally, and specifically in relation to helplines, Baroness Marron confirmed:

'Anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now speak to a trained NHS professional at any time of the day through a new mental health option on NHS
111. Trained NHS staff will assess patients over the phone and guide callers with next steps such organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternatives services, such as crisis cafés or safe havens which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to A&E or a hospital admission. The new integrated service can give patients of all ages, including children, the chance to be listened to by a trained member of staff who can help direct them to the right place. These crisis lines currently take around 200,000 calls a month.'

Thank you for raising this important concern. I hope that the contents of this response provide you and Harry's family with assurance that local action has been, and continues to be, taken to improve access to support and that there are ongoing national plans to continue to improve both availability and accessibility of care for those experiencing mental ill-health. However, if I can be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.