Policy
Safety and urgent help
ThisWay helps you find the right support. It isn't an emergency or crisis service. This policy explains how we keep you safe within those limits, and who to contact if you need help now.
In short
- In an emergency, call 999.
- Some answers show an urgent message first, telling you who to contact. These follow NHS wording.
- Nobody at ThisWay watches your answers as you give them, so we can't respond to them in real time.
- If we're told about a serious risk to someone's life, or to a child, we may share what's needed to keep them safe.
If you need help now
| Where you live | Emergency | Urgent medical help | Urgent mental health help |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 999 | NHS 111 | NHS 111, then choose the mental health option |
| Wales | 999 | NHS 111 Wales | NHS 111 Wales, then press 2 |
| Scotland | 999 | NHS 24 on 111 | NHS 24 on 111 |
| Northern Ireland | 999 | Your GP surgery, or the GP out of hours service | Lifeline, free on 0808 808 8000 |
Anywhere in the UK, Samaritans are free on 116 123, any time.
Domestic abuse: National Domestic Abuse Helpline (England), free on 0808 2000 247, 24 hours. Live Fear Free (Wales), 0808 80 10 800. Scotland's Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline, 0800 027 1234. Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline (Northern Ireland), 0808 802 1414.
Worried about a baby or child: if a baby or child is seriously ill or injured, call 999. For urgent advice, call NHS 111 (Northern Ireland: your GP or out of hours service).
What ThisWay does
- Urgent messages come first. Some answers, such as bleeding after menopause, signs of postpartum psychosis, thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or problems with ADHD medicine, show an urgent message before anything else. It tells you who to contact and how quickly, in NHS wording, for the UK nation you live in.
- We never tell you not to see a professional. ThisWay doesn't tell anyone they're fine, or that they don't need to see a doctor.
- Red flags are checked. Every urgent message is written from NHS and NICE guidance, reviewed by a qualified clinician before each service opens, and re-checked at least every 12 months, and whenever the guidance changes.
- We act on safety errors fast. If we find, or you tell us about, a mistake that could affect someone's safety, we fix it, or take the content down until it's fixed, within 24 hours.
What ThisWay can't do
- We can't respond in real time. Your answers are processed automatically. Nobody reads them as you give them, and we won't know if you're in danger. Please don't use ThisWay, or email us, to ask for help in an emergency.
- We can't diagnose or treat. Only a healthcare professional can tell you what's causing a symptom, in you or your baby.
- We don't give crisis support. For that, please use the numbers above.
If you tell us something worrying
If you email us and what you say makes us believe you, or someone else, may be at risk of serious harm, we will:
- reply as soon as we can with who to contact for urgent help
- encourage you to contact them, and offer to help you find the right service.
If we believe there's an immediate risk to someone's life, or that a child is at risk of significant harm, and we have enough information to act, we may contact the emergency services or the local authority's children's services, and share only what they need to know. Where it's safe, we'll tell you first. UK data protection law allows this to protect someone's life or a child's safety.
We don't contact your GP, midwife, health visitor, employer or anyone else about you in any other situation, unless you ask us to or the law requires it.
Children and young people
ThisWay is for adults. ThisWay-ADHD lets parents keep a record about a child, and ThisWay-Postpartum includes information about babies. We never contact children, and the child safety information in these services follows NHS guidance. The same safeguarding steps above apply if we learn a child may be at risk.
Tell us about a safety concern
If you think something on ThisWay could put someone at risk, please email hello@thisway.health with "Safety" in the subject. We read these first, every working day.
Questions about this policy? Email hello@thisway.health. See all policies.