Safe Havens provide out of hours help and support to people who are experiencing a mental health crisis or emotional distress and their carers.

The Safe Havens are open evenings, weekends and bank holidays. The Safe Havens are designed to provide adults with a safe alternative to A&E when in crisis (please see information below about each Safe Haven).

In addition, each of the Safe Havens is also now offering a daily online service between 6-11pm so that people can receive expert advice and support without having to leave home. More information about the virtual Safe Havens is provided below.

Each of the Safe Havens are staffed by a mental health practitioner from Surrey and Borders Partnership and two trained Safe Haven workers. Peer support from people with lived experience of mental health issues is also increasingly available. The Safe Havens are provided in partnership between our Trust and third sector mental health specialists and funded by Surrey and North East Hampshire NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups.


New weekend opening hours at Woking Safe Haven

From Saturday April 1, Woking Safe Haven’s new weekend opening times will be 6pm-11pm.

This follows a year-long pilot which tested the feasibility of extending the daytime operating hours at the weekends. The service will continue to operate 6pm-11pm on weekdays, Monday-Friday, including bank holidays. Virtual support will be available every day from 6pm-11pm.

 

Virtual Safe Havens

Each of our five Safe Havens is now offering people experiencing a mental health crisis access to an out of hours virtual service. This means people can receive expert guidance and support from mental health nurses and trained mental health practitioners at our Safe Havens without leaving home. The virtual Safe Havens are open from 6-11pm, seven days a week – the same hours as our Safe Haven sites. The Aldershot Safe Haven is open longer hours at weekends, from 12.30pm to 11pm.

Guidance on accessing the virtual Safe Havens

The virtual service uses the NHS digital platform called ‘Attend Anywhere’. To access the service, you will need to use the Google Chrome Internet browser on Windows or Android devices and the Safari browser on Apple devices. 

To connect to the virtual service, simply go to the Safe Haven, listed below, that is closest to you and click on the link.

Epsom virtual Safe Haven, open 6-11pm daily: click here

Guildford virtual Safe Haven, open 6-11pm daily:  click here

Redhill virtual Safe Haven, open 6-11pm daily:  click here

Woking virtual Safe Haven, open 24 hours daily (from 1 April to 7 May 2021): click here

Aldershot virtual Safe Haven, open 6-11pm Mon-Fri and 12.30-11pm weekends:  click here

What happens next?

  • You will be taken to the landing page of the Safe Haven where you can test your camera and microphone are working
  • You will then be asked to 'click' to enter the Safe Haven's virtual waiting room. You cannot to see others here and they can't see you
  • Next, you will be asked to provide us with your contact details. This to ensure we can reach you if you are disconnected. Your conversation will be private and this information will be deleted after the call
  • You will be then be provided with information about the consultation you are about to join and asked to 'click' to start the call
  • A member of the Safe Haven team will great you and begin your consultation
  • If the Safe Haven team are busy, they may send you a message telling you how long the wait will be.

To further help people access the virtual Safe Havens, the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People has provided these more detailed guides:

Who will the virtual Safe Haven be particularly helpful for?

  • Adults experiencing a mental health or emotional wellbeing crisis who are unable to visit a Safe Haven
  • Carers who may be unable to leave the person they are supporting to visit a Safe Haven
  • People who are self-isolating or shielding and also experiencing a mental health crisis
  • People in remote locations with transport challenges

What if I don't have digital access?

The Safe Haven services across Surrey are still open for in-person visits for people who are experiencing crisis.  You can find out more here.

You can also:

  • call Surrey and Borders' Mental Health Crisis Helpline on: 0800 915 4644 or by SMS text: 07717 989 024 
  • contact SHOUT by SMS text on 85258
  • contact Samaritans on 116 123 or email them at jo@samaritans.org
  • download the Stay Alive app on Google play
  • go to the Healthy Surrey website for more information about Mental health and emotional wellbeing support in Surrey.

 

Information leaflet and poster

We have produced resources for you to download with details of all five Safe Havens in Surrey and north east Hampshire