In a span of 12 hours, the hotline has received some 2,000 calls since 6 a.m., said Mrityunjay Kumar, a counselor at the helpline.
Describing working conditions at the helpline, which is run by South Western Ambulance Service NHS trust, Ms Hayes said there was "frequently" no on-call clinician in the call centre.
Perhaps it includes the pension expectations of the senior executives at medical helpline NHS 24 who, it was revealed last week, departed their beleaguered organisation with nearly £320,000 between them.
Additional Information about mental illness and public policy issues is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness at www.nami.org or from its HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264).
On-call doctors at an NHS helpline connected to the death of a baby were so "overworked" some had fallen asleep on duty, a whistleblower has claimed.
I get an automated reply saying they do not read their emails and to phone the helpline at 50p a minute.
I once sat in on the helpline at the Legal Complaints Service (LCS), the Law Society's complaints-handling arm, which received nearly 70,000 calls last year.
Nevertheless, Lord Mandelson approved plans to outsource the new helpline, at one stroke losing the expertise of the HMRC officials who currently give this advice and their vital link to enforcement bodies.
For treatment referrals, information and support, please contact the National Eating Disorders Association's Helpline at 1-800-931-2237 or www.orgionaleatingdisorders.org.org
