Mark NormanBBC South East Health Correspondent
Mark Norman/BBC
Leanne Nagel sought help for her mental health condition and now works to help others
People experiencing a mental health crisis can now access immediate, out-of-hours support seven days a week at services across Sussex.
Staying Well provides a space for adults aged 18 and over who need mental health support, as an alternative to hospital accident and emergency units.
Leanne Nagle lives with depression, anxiety and ADHD and now works as a peer support worker for the service after getting help herself.
“I learned a lot about myself and the reasons behind my mental health issues,” she said. “Then I wanted to give back.”
Ms Nagle says she meets a lot of neurodivergent people that come into the service.
“I’ve got lots of information and my biggest thing is for them to look at it as a superpower and not to look at it in a negative,” she said.
The NHS says the service is available for anyone with a self-defined mental health crisis including feelings of not being able to cope, being worried you might hurt yourself or somebody else or those experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Every month more than 1,000 people across Sussex attend A&E for urgent mental health support, according to the NHS.
Mark Norman/BBC
The Staying Well service can also accept referrals from the emergency services
Lucinda Wentworth is a clinician for the Staying Well service and a registered mental health nurse who described the service as vital.
“People are welcome to drop into the service so they don’t have to wait for lengthy appointments and they don’t have to wait in a crowded, lit waiting room with hundreds of other people for hours,” she said.
“We offer a very person-centred, friendly service and we’re able to look into each person’s needs on that day. I think that’s the nub of the service.”
The Staying Well services are open in Brighton, Crawley, Eastbourne, Hastings and Worthing.
They are open from 17:00 to 22:30 GMT on weekdays, and from 15:00 to 22:30 at weekends, including throughout Christmas and new year. An appointment or professional referral is not required.
Recovery workers, mental health practitioners and peer support workers with lived experience offer visitors emotional support, coping strategies and safety planning.
NHS Sussex said over the past three months more than 2,000 people had accessed the Staying Well services across Sussex, a 122% increase compared with the same period in 2023, when 900 people attended.
The NHS believes these are people who might otherwise have gone to A&E.
Staying Well is delivered by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with local voluntary and community sector organisations.