Revealed: Area of England where you’re most likely to suffer mental health crisis – amid record high calls to NHS hotline

People living in the Midlands are almost five times more likely to seek urgent mental health support than those living in London, new NHS data suggests.

Those living in cities like Birmingham and Nottingham have made more crisis calls to NHS helplines this year than any other region – a total of 274,175 – until June.

Londoners, in comparison, have made just 60,453 calls for help with conditions such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders and self-harm in the same period.

The figures, published by NHS England today, show that crisis calls have reached a record high of 6,062 daily calls, on average, for the month of June 2026. 

This is a 40 per cent surge in demand since 2024 and the highest since the service was launched.

The Daily Mail’s analysis reveals the regions in England responsible for the highest volume of calls, which are first made to NHS 111, before being triaged to mental health specialist services. 

Behind the Midlands with the second most calls is the North East and Yorkshire, which encompasses major cities like Newcastle, Sheffield and Leeds.

People in this region made 216,718 attempts to reach the services.

Urgent mental health services were introduced locally across England during the early stages of the Covid pandemic in 2020 to ensure people could gain support.

But in April 2024, it became centralised via NHS 111 – meaning access to all the local services was through the one phone number.

This means people can now call NHS 111 and select the ‘mental health option’ to be connected directly to their local mental health crisis team.

Callers are then connected to a trained mental health professional to discuss their problems.

And NHS staff will also guide callers to ensure they can reach face-to-face support as soon as possible.

When the 111 scheme was launched, then-NHS national director for mental health, Claire Murdoch, said: ‘The new integrated service can give people of all ages specialist mental health support and ensure they can be offered face-to-face support in a safe and therapeutic environment.

‘So, if you or someone you know needs urgent mental health support, please call 111, and select the mental health option.’

In the month of its launch, handlers received around 4,295 calls per day. 

But that figure had increased by around 41 per cent this June, with around 6,062 average daily calls being made.

People living in the South West of England have been the third most likely to use the services this year, making 166,991 calls from January until June.

The South West includes Bristol, Cornwall and Bath.

The North West of England – featuring areas like Greater Manchester and Merseyside – meanwhile, recorded 140,516 attempts to access the hotline.

People living in the South East of England, which contains nine counties ranging from the Isle of Wight to Buckinghamshire, made 108,753 calls.

The East of England – home to Cambridge and Essex – was close behind with 101,503 attempts.

London was, by some distance, the area with the least amount of calls made.

It comes after a 2024 study, published in the journal SSM Population Health, also found England’s largest city had some of the lowest rates of depression.

Researchers of that report found that the North West and North East of England had the highest rates of depression, correlating with high rates of deprivation in the regions.

At the time, Dr Talia Tsimpida, lecturer at the University of Southampton and honorary Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Liverpool, said: ‘Understanding where and why depression rates are increasing is key to tackling widening mental health inequalities. 

‘Our study provides the first comprehensive nationwide picture of these patterns, offering valuable insights for targeted public mental health interventions.’

The NHS says the new figures are ‘official statistics in development’ and should be ‘used with caution’.

For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or see thecalmzone.net/get-support