Urgent out of hours help

The Emergency Duty Team (EDT) runs out of hours support for situations that don't require 999 services. If you believe someone is in danger, or their life is at risk – call 999.

EDT works with:

Children in need of protection
People with mental health problems who may be at risk to themselves or others
Older people with care and support needs who need urgent help which cannot wait until our usual opening hours
Adults at risk of abuse and neglect
People with a disability who need urgent access to social care services
Police to help adults and young people with care and support needs
Families in emergencies
Health services

For example, we:

Help children and young people at risk of immediate family breakdown. We work to prevent them going into public care.
Help families find new ways of dealing with difficult situations
Work with doctors to carry out emergency Mental Health Act assessments
Give emergency telephone support to carers and families dealing with mental health emergencies
Help older people and other adults with care and support needs to stay in their homes and, where safe, not use residential or nursing care

When we're open

We are open:

Monday to Thursday from 5pm to 9am the following morning
From 4.35pm on Friday through to 9am the following Monday morning
All day (24 hours) on bank holidays

How to contact us

A call handler will answer your call. They'll take your details and discuss the reason for your call so they can find out how urgent it is.

Depending on your situation, they might do one of the following:

Pass your details onto a qualified social worker from the EDT
Signpost you to other agencies
Refer your situation to one of the daytime social care teams for follow up at a later date

People in high-risk situations will always receive a priority service. At busy times there may be a delay before someone gets back to you.