The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) is marking Time to Talk Day
People experiencing mental health concerns are encouraged to seek support through a range of routes depending on their needs, including:
- Urgent mental health support by contacting NHS 111 and selecting option 2 to be connected to local mental health crisis teams
- Free, confidential emotional support available 24 hours a day through Samaritans on 116 123
- Information, advice and access to local services through Mind
- Ongoing mental health care by speaking to a GP about assessment, diagnosis, medication and referral into appropriate community services
Anyone in immediate or life-threatening danger should always call 999.
Time to Talk Day takes place against a backdrop of significant mental health need across the region. Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that the North East continues to experience some of the highest suicide rates in England, reflecting wider pressures on mental health services and the communities they support. Ambulance services are often part of that wider system of response, frequently attending people who are distressed, uncertain where else to turn, or experiencing crisis.
Alongside this wider context, NEAS continues to manage high operational demand across all types of incidents. In 2025, ambulance crews attended more than 439,000 incidents, transporting over 263,000 patients to hospital and referring more than 34,000 people to alternative services in their communities. During the same period, health advisors answered over 1.5 million 999 and 111 calls, while emergency operations centre clinicians treated and discharged more than 51,000 patients over the phone. These figures reflect the breadth and complexity of need handled by the service every day.
Responding to this level of demand requires staff to make complex decisions, often in unpredictable and emotionally charged situations. Supporting staff mental wellbeing is therefore a key part of ensuring safe patient care, good decision-making and service continuity.
NEAS continues to invest in staff wellbeing through Mental Maintenance, a Trust-wide approach that focuses on early awareness, practical support and ongoing reflection, rather than waiting until individuals reach crisis point. The programme provides tools to help staff recognise how pressures can build over time, alongside guidance for managers to support their teams, and resources embedded into everyday working life, including at induction. Mental Maintenance has received national recognition and elements have been shared with ambulance services across England.
This work is supported by a range of support options available to staff, including access to occupational health services, peer-led staff networks, and colleague-led wellbeing initiatives such as Wellbeing Walks. Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) also plays an important role in providing structured peer support following potentially traumatic incidents, recognising the value of colleagues supporting colleagues.
Support extends beyond the workplace. NEAS has also developed ‘Living with an Ambulance Worker’, a dedicated resource for the partners, families and loved ones of ambulance staff. The guide helps those close to staff understand the pressures of working in emergency care, recognise signs that someone may not be coping, and know how to offer support or encourage help-seeking when needed.
Karen O’Brien, director of people and development at NEAS, said: “Ambulance staff work in environments that involve sustained responsibility and complex decision-making. Supporting mental wellbeing is essential to helping our people continue to provide safe, high-quality care. Mental Maintenance, alongside occupational health, TRiM, staff-led initiatives and support for families, helps ensure support is available early and in a practical way. We are proud of the commitment shown across the Trust to looking after one another.”
Andy Walton, staff psychological wellbeing advisor at NEAS, said: “Pressures in emergency care often build gradually. Mental Maintenance is designed to help people recognise that early and take positive steps, supported by practical tools and open conversations. When combined with occupational health support, peer-led networks, TRiM and resources for families, it helps create an environment where mental health is part of everyday working life.”
The service also recently launched SHIFT Zine, a new mental wellbeing resource created by newly qualified paramedics. SHIFT shares honest reflections on the early stages of a frontline ambulance career and uses shared experience to encourage understanding, connection and conversation.
Wallsend-based newly qualified paramedic Shannon Barthram said: “Moving from training into full responsibility can be challenging. You’re making complex decisions while still learning and adjusting to the realities of the role. SHIFT created a safe, non-judgemental space to reflect on those experiences, and the final Zine captures the job in a way that feels human rather than clinical. I’m really proud to have been involved.”