Mental Health Services on the NHS
The NHS has responded to the rise in mental health issues by offering services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made the commitment to increase investment in mental health services quicker than the NHS budget overall. This will include the work of a specialist in suicide prevention.
Get assistance
One of four of us will suffer from mental health issues at some point in our lives. The good news is there are many avenues to seek assistance, and the majority of us will improve with time. It is crucial to know what help is available and who can offer it.
You can seek assistance from a variety of places, including your GP (primary medical doctor for primary care) or your local health center or a community mental health team. These teams comprise of nurses, occupational and speech therapists, and psychotherapists. They work with people who use their services. Based on the type of help you need you could receive individual or group therapy.
You will be asked to fill out a form from your GP so they can refer you to a mental health service in the community. They will also talk to you about what kind of help you require. You will then be seen by someone from a mental health team that may include a psychiatrist, social worker or psychologist. In certain instances the clinical nurse specialist will carry out your assessment and treatment. If you are experiencing a crisis, you can call the NHS 111 helpline for immediate support. If you are already receiving support for your mental health it is recommended to call your usual team first, unless it is outside of hours, or on a weekend, or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to create multidisciplinary, community-based mental health teams that are connected to primary care networks. These teams will improve the quality of mental health care delivered to people experiencing a crisis, and provide support to those in their homes and community rather than in hospitals.
The plan also aims at making emergency services available by decreasing wait times and allowing more beds. It also proposes a mental transport vehicle and ensure that all ambulances are stocked with a mental liaison nurse in the control room to make sure that people experiencing a mental crisis are assisted in emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a wide range of treatment options for mental health conditions. GPs are usually able to treat milder disorders, but more serious conditions will require the assistance of a specialist team. These teams are located in primary and community mental healthcare services and psychiatric hospitals. There are also safe places where you can get help if you are feeling in a crisis.
Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are among the main types of treatment. Previously known as IAPT These programs have seen referral numbers increase every year since they were introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to expanding these services to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medications are also an important part of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by altering the way the brain's chemicals work. They can also be used to alleviate the side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the best medicine for you.
A variety of talk therapy options are offered, including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these can be delivered in person, but others are available online. Some patients prefer face-to face treatment, but it's a matter of choice. There are also a number of charities that provide classes and support groups like Mind. The site is full of information that is trustworthy, but be aware of the fact that there are a lot of false or misleading statements on the internet concerning mental health issues.
The NHS is working to improve the quality of mental health care, but it struggles to meet the demands. There are 54 mental health trusts in the UK and the majority of them receive funding from clinical commissioning organizations to deliver their service. They are typically located in a specific area however, they are also able to be commissioned to deliver national services.
The absence of resources is a major problem. There are concerns about the quality and shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is trying to improve the quality of care by introducing new methods of work and providing more training. It is also introducing more secure and efficient methods to treat people in crisis like mobile crisis teams, as well as safe spaces.
We are here to help you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago, there have been many positive changes for people with mental health problems. Treatment options have gotten more diverse and social barriers are being broken down. But there is still more to do.
People experiencing a mental health crisis require the ability to access the assistance they require quickly and easily. The NHS is working to improve its services so that people in need are able to access them. We will ensure that every acute hospital is without a mental health liaison in A&E departments and wards for inpatients by 2020/21. We will also ensure that 70 percent of these services will meet the 'core 24' standard by 2023/24. Then we will work towards a 100% coverage rate after that.
We will also extend services for those who require them in the community, which includes psychotherapy, in order to provide hundreds of thousands of people with common or severe mental health conditions the support they need. We will continue to develop the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program to ensure that more people can be treated by trained therapists quicker.
The NHS provides confidential, free assistance to anyone suffering from mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines available. These helplines are run entirely by volunteers who offer an environment where you can talk to someone in a safe manner or offer advice and guidance about how to handle your mental health concerns.
There are a variety of local organizations that provide assistance and support to those with mental health issues. These include self-help guides, strategies for coping and activities to try. mental health diagnostic assessment of these organizations offer support groups that meet face-to-face for those who prefer it.
For students, there's the University's Open Door Team which offers an opportunity to consult with a counsellor at any time for those feeling low or stressed. There is also the Nightline student counselling service that provides confidential listening and support from knowledgeable volunteers, as well as information about other services. Charities such as Mind and Rethink are a great source of information and can provide support in a variety of ways such as online and through local groups. They can provide a variety of activities and courses ranging from mindfulness to art classes, which can be beneficial for those suffering from mental health issues.
Making a referral
Mental health services are under strain and GPs are forced to make difficult choices about which specialist services they should refer their patients to. The doctor will take into consideration the medical history of the patient and refer them to services they believe can assist. They may refer a patient to an NHS trust or an independent service.
A mental health specialist will then assess the referral and decide if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't happy with the referral, they will call the GP and explain their reasons. They could also ask the GP to alter the referral or ask for more details.
Referrals to a local Community Mental Health Team can be made using the NHS e-Referral Service. The system lets doctors and other healthcare professionals to send patients to either a preliminary clinical assessment for mental health or directly to an appointment. However, not all CMHTs offer both options and the system cannot be used for every kind of mental health referral.
A GP may also decide to refer a person to an expert community mental health service (CMT). These are usually run by a large local healthcare organization or a hospital. CMTs are a good choice for those who have to see a psychiatrist or psychologist but do not require inpatient treatment. They can also provide an early intervention program where psychiatrists collaborate with psychotherapist to help someone overcome an issue or improve the quality of their lives.
CMTs are faced with the task of ensuring that all referrals are made within a reasonable amount of time. Many referrals are deemed urgent, even if they may not be. This can cause people who aren't in a crisis to be overworked and experience delays.
To tackle this issue, some CMHTs are trying to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes an urgent referral. This was achieved by using an established form that asks the referrer if they believe the situation is urgent. The form has a checkbox for the referrer to tick when they believe the referral is urgent.