EXTREMELY WORRIED ABOUT NEIGHBOUR! What to do???!

in that case the police seem to be your only option

dont give it any more thought.
just make the call

You need a name at the minimum. You will be trying to make a report over the phone I assume so how will anyone see a picture? Even if you have a name and you have no consent from her nor evidence that this is actually anything to do with mental illness I cannot see how a mental health team will get involved.

Have you tried reporting to the housing provider? That’s honestly a much better idea as they have far more chance of knowing who she is given she is their tenant.

You can be as insistent as you like but they won’t do anything because this level of info is of no practical use. Neither social care nor mental health services have any kind of investigative powers or remit to look into random information. We don’t have spare manpower to go out round the streets looking for people. It has to be a specific concern about a named person.

You know that how??

The one that I work for would not do anything with a referral from a random person who doesn’t even know the name or exact address. Not that we would not want to but we would not be able to.

What @mindutopia said.

But in addition to writing to the GP surgery I would also talk to Adult Social Care. Don’t let them fob you off - be insistent, describe her appearance and behaviour and the frequency of these incidents. Be clear that this lady is in urgent need of a welfare check.

I know it’s not funny at all, so apologies, but how terribly British!

the crisis team will look into this,

All the people saying OP should report to social care or a mental health team. They cannot take a referral for someone from a random member of the public on the information given. You may feel it is ‘computer says no’ but just think of the practicalities. You cannot make a record of the concern or investigate what is known about the background without a name. Are you supposed to just go and hang around in a stairwell hoping that she shows up? This is not how services work.

Highly optimistic to think that the mental health crisis team will a) take a referral from a random member of the public b) take a referral with no consent c) instantly know who that person is from the vague description given especially in a large city. You can try calling them if you like but I doubt this would be an effective course of action.

If she is banging on your door harassing you or going through your bin I’d say you have cause to call police 101. I know they don’t deal with mental health issues but anti social behaviour they do and they will have powers to investigate and find out who she is and can raise a safeguarding concern

You could call the local GP surgery although this is also a long shot with no name as she may not even be registered there but it’s probably less of a long shot than the MH crisis team who would need a valid referral.

Doesn’t the nosy neighbour know the lady’s name since she seems to know all the rest of her business?

If what neighbour has said is true about her having mental health care and previous hospitalisations, then she is known to someone somewhere. The fact she is decompensating like this would lead me to believe that her husband is not able to adequately care for her (maybe he’s left, maybe he’s dead 😬).

I honestly would put all of these concerns in writing to your local GP surgery and also contact the local mental health crisis team. They will know her. I cannot imagine that with a description and her address and floor (not flat), the team wouldn’t immediately know who she is. I’d be very clear that you don’t want any information, but give your contact details in case they need to follow up.

This will be your best bet at getting past the computer says no of whoever is answering the phone and can’t process an official report without filling in all the fields on the form.

She may have a crack cocaine addiction or early onset dementia. You could make a referral to the adult social safeguarding team.

I think you need to be reassured that you've done what you can. Find out the woman's name or address (someone will know it) and report to services for mental health or even report to police in your area. Obviously she's not done anything wrong but reporting concerns to police can trigger them to report to relevant mental health teams. You could even speak to 101 and say it's just for information because you're concerned.

It might be that she's not actually causing herself or anyone else harm, even though she's behaving oddly, in which case all services can do is encourage her to engage with meds etc, and hospital would be disproportionate...

If you have a history of mental heath under a team, sometimes you stay with adult health even when you're over 65. In my cmht at least.

Should you report?! Erm, yes! She obviously needs help. This sounds like dementia. I’m worried you have to ask MN whether you should report…

I'd inform SS. She needs help, husband or not.

Op doesn't sound uk ? Probably need some clarification on that for protocols.

Mh is messy if enough has concerned you to post here, you should make sure there is intervention

Personally I wouldn't be following her anywhere, especially not back to her flat where she most likely has household knives, scissors, a hammer etc. If she is mentally unwell she could well believe OP 'is after' her and it may not end well.

Well, exactly.

You just mentioned she has a husband OP. I guess he's dealing with it, or not.....

I personally wouldn't get involved.

Weirdo neighbours are par for the course in life.

I had the police round here about 3 weeks ago (thank god a woman too) to ask about a new neighbour who is obviously wanted by them.... 😳

I would NOT follow her back to her flat, thats likely to really trigger her and escalate unpredictable behaviour.

If you feel comfortable, if she is trying to talk to you, I would ask to accompany her back to her flat so you can see she's home safely.

If she agrees, thats fine then leave her at her door and you can then contact adult social services.

If not, then just contact adult social services with your building address and a good description.

If you are worried about her behaviour and think it may be a risk to other people, you can call the police but expect better results on a weekday afternoon vs a weekend evening, and expect them to be a lot less interested if she is just being 'weird in public' vs being a threat to herself and others!

ring adult mental health services would be my suggestion in that case. assuming she is under 65

you are a great human and neighbour. Who is my neighbour , asked the disciples of Jesus

Obviously she needs checking up on, from miles

I couldn't leave it. Whether she is mentally unwell or not, she's vulnerable and needs help. I would keep on reporting to police and Social services, and see if I could get any other information out of nosey neighbour.