Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been a huge increase in people seeking help for mental health issues, and the NHS has responded by offering services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made an unrepeatable commitment to increase the investment in mental health services quicker than the NHS budget in general. This includes specialist suicide prevention work.
Need help?
One out of four of us will suffer from a mental health problem at some moment in our lives. The good news is that there are many different ways to get help and most of us recover over time. It is crucial to know the types of help available and who can provide it.
You can seek help from a variety of places, including your doctor (primary medical doctor who treats patients) or your local health center or a community mental health team. These teams comprise of nurses, occupational and psychotherapists, as well as speech therapists. mental health checkup work with the clients who seek their services. Based on the kind of help you require, you may be offered individual or group therapy.
Your GP will usually request you to fill out an application form to make a referral to a local mental health team. They will also ask you to specify what kind of support you need. You will then be seen by a member of a mental health team that could include a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some cases, a clinical nurse specialist will perform your assessment and treatment. If you're in crisis, contact the NHS 111 helpline for urgent support. If you are already receiving mental health services It is recommended to call your usual team first, unless it's outside of hours, or on a weekend, or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to establish multidisciplinary, community-based mental health teams which are connected to primary care networks. These teams will enhance the quality of the mental health services delivered to people experiencing a crisis, and provide support to them in their homes and community instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aimed at make crisis services more accessible by reducing wait times and allowing more beds. It also proposes the introduction of mental health transport vehicles and ensure that every ambulance has a mental health liaison nurse in their control rooms to ensure that people who are having an illness of mental health are supported in emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a variety of treatment options for mental health conditions. Less severe disorders are often treated by GPs and more serious conditions require an expert team. These teams work across primary and community mental health services as well as psychiatric hospitals. There are also safe spaces where you can seek help if you are feeling in a state of crisis.
Talking therapies for depression and anxiety are among the most popular kinds of treatment. These programs, formerly known as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy) have seen their number of referrals increase every year since they were first introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has set the goal of expanding these services to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
The use of psychiatric medication is also a vital component of treatment. They can improve symptoms by altering how the brain's chemicals function. They can also be used to alleviate the side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will recommend the right medication for you.
There are many different types of talk therapies, such as group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these therapies can be offered in person, while other can be performed online. Some patients prefer face-to-face treatment, but it is an individual choice. There are a variety of charities which offer support groups and courses like Mind. Their website is full of information that is reliable, however you should be aware that there's plenty of inaccurate or misleading information on the internet about mental health issues.
The NHS is working to improve mental health care but it's struggling to meet the demands. There are 54 mental health trusts across the UK, and most of they receive funding from clinical commissioning groups to deliver their services. They are usually located in a specific region, but can be contracted to provide national services.
The lack of resources is a major issue. There are concerns about the quality of care and the shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is trying to improve the quality of care by delivering more training and developing new ways of working. It also offers more secure and efficient methods to treat people who are in crisis. This includes mobile crisis teams, as well as safe space.
Supporting you
Since the NHS launched 70 years ago there have been numerous positive developments for people suffering from mental health problems. The options for treatment have grown and social barriers have been broken down. However, there is still much to be done.
People experiencing mental health issues need to be able to access the help they need quickly and easily. The NHS is working to improve its services to ensure that those who need them can get them. We will ensure that every acute hospital is without a mental health liaison service in A&E departments and wards for patients by 2020/21. 70 percent of these services will meet the 'core 24' standard by 2023/24, working towards achieving 100% coverage afterward.
We will also expand services for those who require them in the community, such as psychotherapy, in order to provide hundreds of thousands more people suffering from severe or common mental health issues the help they require. We will continue to work on the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program so that more people are seen by qualified therapists, faster.
The NHS provides free, confidential helplines for anyone struggling with a mental health issue. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines available. These helplines are run by trained volunteers and provide the opportunity to talk with someone in a secure environment, or offer information and advice on how to tackle your mental health concerns.
Additionally there are a variety of local organisations which can provide support and guidance to people with mental health problems. Self-help guides, coping strategies and other activities are all possible. Many of these organisations provide support groups in person to those who would prefer it.
For students, there's the University's Open Door Team which offers the opportunity to visit a counselling center for those who feel low or stressed. Nightline is a student counselling service that provides confidential listening as well as information and support from experienced volunteers. Charities such as Mind and Rethink are a great source of information and provide support in various forms such as online and through local groups. They also offer a variety of classes and activities, from mindfulness to art classes that could be beneficial for people suffering from mental health problems.
Referrals
With mental health services under pressure, GPs are having to make difficult decisions regarding what specialist services they should refer patients to. The GP will take a patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a service they think could be able to assist. They may refer a patient to an NHS trust or an independent provider.
A mental health professional will then assess the referral and decide if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't pleased with the referral, they'll contact the GP to discuss their decision and explain why. They may also request the GP for more details or to modify the referral.
Referrals to a local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) may be made via the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). The system allows GPs as well as other healthcare professionals to refer people to either a pre-mental health clinical assessment or directly to an outpatient appointment. Not all CMHTs offer both options and the system can't be used for all types of mental health referrals.
A doctor may also refer patients to a mental health specialist in the community service (CMT). These are usually run by a large local healthcare organization or hospital. CMTs are an excellent option for those who require to see a psychiatrist or psychologist but do not require inpatient care. They also offer an early intervention program, where a psychiatrist collaborates with a therapist to help a person overcome a problem or improve their quality of life.
CMTs are faced with the task of making sure that all referrals are received within a reasonable amount of time. Many referrals are considered urgent, even though they might not be. This can result in over-working and delays for people who aren't in need.
To combat this problem, a few CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes an urgent referral. This was achieved by using an established form that asks the referrer if the case is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer is able to tick to indicate if the request is urgent.