Mental health ambulance calls rise in Barnet, Haringey and Camden

A significant spike in the number of emergency mental health calls received by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) has led it to employ specialist nurses in its call centre.

Camden, Haringey and Barnet have all seen rises in mental health calls over the past three years.

Between 2012 and 2015, Camden saw an increase of 18 per cent, Haringey of 14pc and Barnet of 24pc.

The increased pressure comes as there has been an increase of more than 18,000 mental health related emergency calls London-wide.

Briony Sloper, deputy director of nursing and quality at LAS, said: “We’re committed to providing the best possible care for all of our patients, including those with mental health concerns.

“We’ve already taken key steps to improve the specialist response available for patients who call 999 with mental health concerns, by employing four specialist mental health nurses who work directly from our control room alongside call handlers.

“They are tasked with carrying out mental health assessments and working with patients to ensure they are able to access the right support.”