Health and care leaders in Humber and North Yorkshire are looking for financial or resource support to help create and develop a crisis card scheme.

The cards are typically designed to be carried in people's wallets or purses and contain information about what to do and who to contact when they are experiencing a mental health crisis.

They can be particularly useful if people have difficulties communicating when they are struggling, for example if they suffer from bad anxiety.

It is one of a number of ideas the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership is hoping to develop, with support from Future Humber and Bondholders, to improve crisis mental health in our area and reduce the impact on businesses.

We have seen over recent years health inequalities grow and changes with cost-of-living crisis and the pandemic fundamentally impacting communities' way of life – all of which have led to a greater demand on our mental health services and pressure mounting on crisis teams in the region.

Across the UK, poor mental health among employees is thought to be costing employers between £42 billion and £45 billion each year.

Ryan Nicholls, the Partnership's lead for Suicide Prevention, said: "According to some research, mental health issues are the number one cause of sickness absence in the UK; it's clear the impact on individuals and employers is considerable.

"We are therefore asking if there are any Bondholders that would like to get involved and support our suicide and crisis prevention work by providing resources or financial backing that would make such a difference. If you are interested, please drop us a line at hnf-tr.hnycrisisinvolvement@nhs.net."

Gemma Willingham-Storr, the Partnership's Lead for Urgent and Emergency Mental Health, added: "The development of a crisis card and a mental health passport are just two ideas we want to develop further with input from our communities. If any business in the Humber wants to get involved with this work, we would welcome a conversation."

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