If you are experiencing an acute mental health crisis, you can now call your region’s emergency medical service or emergency helpline — 1813 in the Capital Region and 1818 in Region Zealand.
The telephone lines are staffed by healthcare professionals with psychiatric expertise. This strengthens access to emergency care and provides a common entry point for help, regardless of whether the crisis is physical or mental.
The new nationwide initiative is intended to make it easier to access the right help in an acute mental health crisis, around the clock. Previously, there was no similar nationwide 24-hour service for people experiencing an acute mental health crisis. As of today, citizens can contact their region’s emergency medical service or helpline when they need urgent help.
If the situation is life-threatening, citizens should still call 1-1-2.
We already have a well-functioning system in the regions, with out-of-hours medical services and emergency helplines that people can contact in the event of an acute physical illness. This service has now been upgraded so that the same applies to mental health conditions. For people experiencing an acute mental health crisis, it is crucial that help is easy to find. The new nationwide initiative ensures that people in acute mental health crises are met by healthcare professionals with the appropriate psychiatric expertise. This makes it easier to assess their needs and ensure that they receive the help they need.
Julie Hagstrøm, Section Manager at the Danish Health Authority
The upgraded emergency telephone service is now available in all five Danish regions. People experiencing an acute mental health crisis should contact the emergency medical service in the region where they are currently located, even if it is not the region where they live.
“It is important to raise awareness of the new service so that citizens and their relatives know where to turn when they need urgent help. The key message is that there is now one common entry point to emergency care, regardless of whether the problem is a physical or mental illness, crisis or injury,” says Julie Hagstrøm.
The emergency telephone service is the result of the Better Psychiatry agreement from November 2023, under which the government and the parties to the agreement allocated funding to develop and implement a national psychiatric emergency helpline. The service provides access to healthcare professionals around the clock, every day of the year. They can, for example, refer people to acute treatment services or dispatch a psychiatric emergency team.
By integrating the service into the existing regional emergency medical services and helplines, mental and physical health conditions are treated equally, creating easier, faster and more straightforward telephone access to acute psychiatric care.
Materials promote awareness of the new service
To raise awareness of the service, materials such as posters and postcards have been produced for waiting rooms. They inform citizens and their relatives that they should contact the emergency medical service or helpline in the event of an acute mental health crisis. If the situation is life-threatening, always call 1-1-2.
The materials, prepared by the Danish Health Authority and the five regions, also include business cards, social media videos and information for digital screens. They are being made available to regions, municipalities and civil society organisations to help more citizens and their relatives find the right support when they need it.
Contact your regional emergency medical service
Capital Region
Call 1813
Region Zealand
Call 1818
Central Denmark Region
Call 70 11 31 31
Region of Southern Denmark
Call 70 11 07 07
North Denmark Region
Call 70 15 03 00
Source
https://www.sst.dk/nyheder/2026/akuttelefon-til-mennesker-i-akut-psykisk-krise-er-etableret-i-hele-landet Picture: wirestock, Magnific.com
