Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space (MHCBS)

Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space is a debt respite scheme. It provides protection for people who live in England and Wales, are in problem debt and who are receiving mental health crisis treatment.  

Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space should stop you being contacted by someone you owe money to, or being charged fees and interest on your debts while you are receiving crisis treatment. It also covers a further 30 days after your mental health crisis treatment ends. This gives you the chance to recover and 30 days to access support from a debt adviser once you are no longer experiencing a mental health crisis.  

Eligibility

You may be eligible for Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space if you are resident in England or Wales and you are receiving mental health crisis treatment (including if that treatment has already started).  

Receiving mental health crisis treatment means that you:

• have been detained in hospital under a section of the Mental Health Act for assessment or treatment
• have been removed to a place of safety by a police constable due to concerns about your health
• are receiving any other crisis, emergency or acute care or treatment in hospital or in the community from a specialist mental health service.

Make a referral

You can refer yourself for Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space, or one of the following people may make a referral on your behalf:  

• Your carer or representative
• A mental health nurse  
• Your GP or other healthcare professional  
• A social worker or an approved mental health professional (AMHP)  
• Your key worker/care coordinator  
• An independent mental health advocate (IMHA)  

Please contact our Customer Fulfilment Centre on 0118 937 3747 who will make a referral to our Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) Service. 

After referral, the next steps are:

• An approved mental health professional (AMHP) will check whether you are receiving mental health crisis treatment
• If you are eligible, the AMHP will send an application to an approved debt adviser
• The Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space will start the day after the debt adviser receives the application form
• Every 20 to 30 days the debt adviser will check whether you are still receiving crisis treatment
• Once the crisis treatment has ended, the Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space will end 30 days after the treatment finished

The benefit of having Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space

Once your Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space starts it will last for as long as you receive mental health crisis treatment plus another 30 days.

Breathing space will reduce the stress of debt while you receive treatment. It will also put you in touch with a specialist debt adviser to help you manage your debts once you are feeling better and no longer need crisis care and treatment.

Whilst you are in the Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space you creditors can’t:

• charge you further interest, fees or charges on the debts listed in your breathing space
• take any enforcement action
• instruct enforcement agents or bailiffs to recover the debt