Need Advice or Urgent Help?
The main thing is to make sure you are safe. You can't help anyone else if you aren't safe yourself.
NHS / Ambulance / medical help
If the emergency is life-threatening, e.g. if someone:
- is unconsciousness or not responding,
- is very confused
- is struggling to breathe
- is having fits that are not stopping
- has a serious injury.
You should always phone 999 and ask for an ambulance.
If it's a medical problem and you aren't sure if it's an emergency it's best to be safe and phone 999 anyway. If you think the person needs help but you are sure it's not an emergency, for instance if they had a sprain, strain, cut or minor burn you can ring 111 for advice.
Police
If you need a quick response because someone's at risk or there's a crime in progress call the police on tel: 999. If it's less urgent contact tel: 101
Fire
Don't attempt to tackle a fire yourself. Get out of the house or the building shutting doors behind you and ring tel: 999.
If possible always get phone numbers you might need in an emergency ready in advance and keep them somewhere safe.
If you need help from a social worker you can phone Derbyshire County Council on tel: 01629 533190 between 8am to 8pm, Mon to Fri, 9.30am to 4pm Sat.
If you need to contact someone outside of those times, you can ring the emergency out-of-hours team on tel: 01629 532600
Other phone numbers
We've got phone numbers of other services you might need to contact on our carer in crisis page.
If the person you care for has mental health problems and is having a mental health crisis it can difficult to know where to turn to and what to do.
If they get support from the Community Mental Health Team, their care plan should have the names and numbers of who to contact in an emergency.
If you can’t find the care plan or there isn’t one you can contact the local Mental Health Crisis Team. These teams are made up of psychiatric nurses, social workers and support workers. They carry out mental health assessments under the Mental Health Act, provide support and short term help until another team is available.
- North Derbyshire Crisis Team - tel 01246 512831 (24 hour service)
- South Derbyshire Crisis Team - tel: 01332 623700 ext 33900 (24 hour service)
- High Peak Crisis Team - tel 01298 814784 (24 hour service)
If you aren't sure which area you live in, just ring the one you think seems the most likely and tell them where you live and they'll be able to help you get to the right place.
If you aren't sure whether it's a crisis situtaion you can ring NHS direct on tel: 111 for advice. You could also ring your GP and ask for help.
Things you can do to help someone suffering mental ill health / suicidal
Scottish Young Carers have developed a useful guide that gives tips on how to help people suffering bouts of depression, panic attacks, bi-polar episodes and self-harm.
You can also read a guide on what to do if the person you care for is feeling suicidal. The guide has helpful phone numbers and practical tips and advice.
Being a carer can be very stressful. You might feel like you can't carry on caring anymore or you urgently need a break. If you feel like this it's important to tell someone and ask for help.
Sometimes you can get through how you're feeling by talking to someone. You could speak to a family member or friend and talk about how you're feeling, or ask them to step in so you can take a short break.
If you would prefer to talk to someone you don't know you could ring:
- Childline, open 24 hours a day - tel: 0800 1111 (always open)
- The Samaritans, open 24 hours a day - tel: 116 123 (always open)
- Sane Line, open 4.30pm to 10.30pm - tel: 0300 304 7000 (Open every day of the year, inc all bank holidays from 4.30pm to 10.30pm).
However, if you still feel you desperately need a break and can no longer continue caring at all you will need to contact Call Derbyshire for an assessment on tel: 01629 533190 or outside of normal office hours call tel: 01629 532600
