The Mental Health Assessment Service (MHAS) provides care to Edinburgh patients who are acutely mentally unwell and in crisis.
MHAS is based at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital 24 hours a day. The service also has a staff member in the A&E Department (RIE) out of hours, and provides an emergency service to those in East and Midlothian from 24:00 to 08:00.
For emergency referrals requiring same day input, please call MHAS (Mental Health Assessment Service) on 0131 286 8137 to discuss.
Please note thatMHAS remains a nurse led service and cannot commence or review patients’ medication; and that prior to referral, other options are considered such as urgent CMHT, outpatient review or assessment by Thrive. Further details are available at Edinburgh Mental Health Services.
The service requests that the MHAS phone number not be given to patients. Where someone need access to an out of hours mental health crisis service, they should be directed to NHS 24 (111) in the first instance.
C.M & R.W 12-12-23
Who to refer:
Please refer acutely mentally unwell individuals, in crisis, who may need a hospital admission or intensive home treatment.
How to refer:
- Please complete an assessment of the patient on the day of the referral
- Please phone MHAS on 0131 286 8137 to discuss with a member of the team. This allows MHAS to get a sense of the patient’s needs and make a plan for what happens if the patient does not attend
- Where a referral for assessment has been accepted, an appointment time at MHAS is given for later that day.
