A new 24/7 mental health helpline has gone live, as Health Minister Chris Fearne downplays criticism that the government slashed funds to a similar hotline run by the Richmond Foundation.

Anyone experiencing a crisis can call 1579 and speak to one of eight psychologists operating from an office near Mount Carmel Hospital in Attard.

Fearne said that the ministry decided to launch a national helpline after realising the pandemic was impacting people's mental wellbeing.

“During the pandemic, we realised that many people were calling the swab test helpline 111 not to book an appointment, but to speak to someone about their mental health and how they were feeling,” he said.

He said at the time, health resources were dedicated to COVID-19, and that the government had reached an agreement with NGO Richmond Foundation to financially assist the NGO to set up a mental health helpline. 

“Richmond Foundation has always provided incredible service and the team is extremely professional,” he said.

However, he did not see any problem with setting up a new helpline after the government decided to stop funding the NGO 1770 helpline

“There is nothing wrong with there being two mental health helplines, one provided by the government and another private,” he said.

“There are plenty of other health services, not just to do with mental health, that are provided by both private and government entities.”

The government's Mental Health Helpline 1579 is up and running as of Wednesday. Photo: Jonathan Borg

The announcement of the national healthline was welcomed by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Director-General of the World Health Organization.

Fearne said there are no issues if Richmond Foundation continues to run its helpline, and that the government has a number of agreements with the foundation to support mental health patients and improve their services.

The foundation's helpline had been partly funded by government and received around €10,000 a month to provide the service.

Requests for mental health support have been on the increase since the pandemic.

Last year, Richmond Foundation said such requests jumped by 500 per cent since the pandemic's start, receiving over 4,000 requests for help in 2020 alone.

Fearne also referenced the recent National Audit Office report on the progress at Mount Carmel Hospital and mental health services. 

It said progress had been made in the implementation of half of its recommendations, including those considered as being the most critical.

Fearne said he is aware of the calls to improve the hospital structure and said the government has recently announced the development of the new psychiatric hospital in Swatar, close to Mater Dei hospital. He said a site in Swatar has been earmarked for the construction of the new hospital.

There are other mental health helpline available in Malta, including suicide support chats in Malta that can support someone in need of help, such as kellimni.com