Mental health services

The Trust provide Mental Health Services in the community across South Tyneside, Sunderland and Gateshead:

South Tyneside 

South Tyneside Talking Therapies

South Tyneside Mental Health Support Service: Healthy Minds Team 

South Tyneside Children and Young People's Mental Health Services: Lifecycle Services

Sunderland 

Sunderland Mental Health Support Service: Healthy Heads Team 

Sunderland Community Children and Young People's Mental Health Services

Gateshead

Gateshead Talking Therapies

Gateshead Children and Young People's Mental Health Services 

Gateshead Adult Mental Health Peer Support Services

Gateshead Children and Young People's Primary Care Mental Health Service 

You can find all the information you need about all these services on their own website: stsftmentalhealth@nhs.uk

Sunderland Psychiatric Liaison Team is a 24/7 service that provides timely assessment, effective intervention and appropriate onward referral and sign-posting for people who present to the acute hospital with mental health co-morbidities, self-harm, suicidality and mental ill-health commonly associated with old age, such as dementia and delirium.

Sunderland Psychiatric Liaison also offers mental health provision to children under the age of 18 in the paediatric emergency department and inpatient wards between the hours of 8am-9pm, 7 days a week. Additionally, we also offers a comprehensive outpatient clinic service to a variety of patient groups, for example those with long term health conditions, persistent physical symptoms and patient’s who require review post self-harm.

The Psychiatric Liaison Team offers bespoke training packages on mental health to the acute trust and plays an important part in shaping mental health policies and provision. We are a large multi-disciplinary team that includes doctors, nurses, support workers, a psychologist, a research assistant, a pharmacist, admin staff and a peer support worker. We also have a regular complement of students who spend time with our service from a variety of disciplines.

Contact Us: 0191 5410145

Finding Us:

You can find us in the M1/M2 Block at Sunderland Royal Hospital.

Our Team:

Dr Vish Goel – Consultant Psychiatrist (WAA)

Dr Anthea Livingstone – Consultant Psychiatrist (OP)

Jonathan Haggerty – Clinical Lead (ED stream)

Ashleigh Draper – Clinical Lead (Ward stream)

Samantha Diston – Clinical Lead (Children’s stream)

Emma Shickle – Clinical Lead (Outpatient stream)

There is now a simpler way for people to find the right support in a mental health crisis.

If you, or someone you know, is experiencing a mental health crisis, you can now call NHS 111 and select option 2 for 24/7 access to crisis mental health support.

The service is still provided by your local NHS mental health trust – that is not changing – it's just a new telephone number to call.

To help you get the support you need, you will speak to a mental health advisor who will ask you some questions and listen to you. They can offer self-care advice and signposting over the phone, transfer you to the crisis service if needed or refer you to other local services.

Don’t worry, the local freephone crisis service numbers in your area will still be active for a while to make sure you always get the support you need.

What is a mental health crisis?

If a person’s mental or emotional state gets worse quickly, this can be referred to as a mental health crisis or a mental health emergency. If this happens, it is important to get help quickly. 

A mental health crisis can mean different things to different people, but often means that you no longer feel able to cope or be in control of your situation. It can cause a significant disruption to your life and your ability to function.

You should call NHS 111 and select option 2 for crisis mental health support if you are worried about:

• thoughts about your life not being worth living or about harming yourself
• feeling out of control or unable to cope
• feeling anxious about leaving the house
• hearing voices or seeing things that others can’t

If you or someone else have physically harmed themselves, or if their life is at risk, then you should still call 999 or go to A&E.