"Ambulance Service and Mental Health Crisis"

I spoke with an out of hours GP in the evening and an ambulance was requested due to a deterioration in my mental health. An ambulance was requested late that evening and there was still no ambulance arrived by early evening the next day. Suicide has massively increased in Northern Ireland in the last few years and I want to share my story in the hopes that the lack of support from the ambulance service may change in future and actually take mental health seriously. No one going through a mental health crisis, actively self harming and suicidal should be expected to wait hours on end in hope for help. NIAS recently published that they were now working with mental health practitioners through their service. In the 20 hours I waited I didn’t get to speak to any mental health practitioner, I received a call from NIAS in the morning and later mid afternoon. Mental health needs to be taken more seriously before more lives are lost to suicide!