Dedicated mental health response helps patients avoid hospital over Christmas and New Year
Date: 9 January 2026A dedicated mental health response partnership between the region’s ambulance service and local mental health trusts helped dozens of patients avoid hospital over the Christmas and New Year period.
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) works with mental health trusts in the region to provide mental health response vehicles (MHRVs), which can be dispatched to appropriate 999 calls. The vehicles are staffed by EEAST paramedics and mental health clinicians.
Between 23 December 2025 and 1 January 2026, the MHRVs responded to 233 mental health emergencies. Of these,135 required a face-to-face response, and 98 were by direct telephone advice to ambulance and police colleagues on-scene and in 999 control rooms.
Of the patients supported over the Christmas and New Year period, 80% were signposted to specialist services in the community.
17% were transported to hospital for physical health reasons, and just 3% needed to be taken to hospital for emergency mental health needs that could not be managed safely in the community.
The mental health response vehicles, which operate in all six counties of the EEAST region, include a mental health clinician on their crew, and are dedicated to ensuring patients in mental health crisis can access the right help from the correct professionals at the time of crisis.
Liz Ip Piang Siong, Head of Mental Health for EEAST said: “For people in a mental health crisis, going to hospital can often be more distressing so our approach, which aims to provide care outside of a hospital environment, is often preferable for patients.
“Additionally, our Mental Health Response Vehicles have a vital role in delivering EEAST’s mental health commitments under the NHS 10-year plan: providing early intervention, helping prevent patients in mental health crisis deteriorating further, and avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions.”
Regional Summary:
Regional Total: 233 contacts Face to face: 135 Telephone Advice: 98
Bedfordshire MHST x1 11 Face to Face contacts 15 Telephone advice contacts
Cambridge & Peterborough MHRV x 1 23 Face to Face contacts 13 Telephone advice contacts
Norfolk & Waveney MHRV x 2 (3 day service and 7 day service) 8 Face to Face contacts 17 Telephone advice contacts
Hertfordshire and West Essex MHRV x 3
32 Face to Face contacts
16 Telephone advice contacts
Mid and South Essex MHRV x 1 24 Face to Face contacts 18 Telephone advice contacts
Suffolk and North East Essex MHRV x 2 37 Face to Face contacts 19 Telephone advice contacts
