Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been a huge increase in people seeking treatment for mental health issues, and the NHS has responded by providing services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made a renewed commitment to grow the investment in mental health services faster than the NHS budget overall. This includes specialist work in suicide prevention.
Helping yourself
One of four of us will suffer from mental health issues at some point in our lives. The good news is that there are many different ways to seek assistance and the majority of us recover with time. It is important to know the types of help available and who can offer it.
You can seek assistance from a variety of places, including your doctor (primary medical doctor for primary care), your local health centre, or a community mental health team. These teams consist of nurses, occupational and psychotherapists, as well as speech therapists. They work with the people who use their services. You can receive individual or group therapy, based on the type of help you need.
You will be asked to complete a form with your GP so that they can refer you to a mental health professional in the community. They will also talk with you about what kind of help you require. Then, you will be viewed by a member of the mental health team that may include a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some instances, a clinical nurse specialist will perform your assessment and treatment. If you're in an emergency, you can call the NHS 111 helpline for urgent assistance. If you're already being supported by mental health services it's a good idea to try and contact your usual team first unless it's out of core hours, the weekend or on a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to create multidisciplinary, community-based mental health teams which are connected to primary care networks. These will help to improve the quality of care that is provided to those suffering from a mental health crisis and provide support within their communities and homes rather than in hospitals.
The plan also aims at making crisis services more accessible by reducing waiting times and opening more beds. It also proposes a mental transport vehicle and ensure that all ambulances are equipped with a mental liaison nurse in the control room to ensure that those who are experiencing mental distress are supported during emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a range of treatment options to treat mental health issues. GPs are often able to treat milder conditions, but more severe illnesses will require the assistance of a specialist team. These teams work across community and primary mental health services, and also mental health hospitals. There are also safe spaces where you can get help if you are feeling in a crisis.
Talking therapies for depression and anxiety are one of the main types of treatment. These programs, formerly known as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy) have seen their numbers of clients increase every year since they were introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these services to ensure that 1.9 million people will be able to access them by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medications are also a vital element of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by changing the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also help minimize the adverse effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the appropriate medication for you.
A wide variety of talking therapy options are offered, including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of them are offered in person, while others can be delivered remotely. Some patients prefer treatment in person, but that is a personal decision. There are also a lot of charities that provide support groups and courses like Mind. The site is full of information that is trustworthy but you should be aware that there are numerous false or misleading claims on the internet about mental health issues.
The NHS is working to improve the mental health system, but it's struggling to meet demand. There are 54 mental health trusts across the UK, and most of they receive funding from clinical commissioning groups to provide their service. They typically are located in a specific region, but can be contracted to provide national services.
One of the main issues is the insufficient resources to meet the growing demand. There are concerns over the quality and shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is working to improve the services by introducing new ways of working and offering more training. It also introduces safer and more effective methods to treat people who are in crisis. This includes mobile crisis teams and safe spaces.
Helping you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago there have been positive developments for those suffering from mental health issues. Treatment options have increased and social barriers are being broken down. However, there is still much to be done.
People who are suffering from mental health problems need to be able to get the assistance they require quickly and easily. The NHS is striving to improve the quality of services so that people in need receive assistance. We will ensure that every acute hospital is without the mental health liaison service in A&E departments and wards for patients by 2020/21. 70 percent of these services will be in line with the "core 24" standard by 2023/24. Then how to get a mental health assessment will work towards a 100% coverage rate after that.
We will also expand services for those who require them in the community, which includes psychotherapy, in order to provide hundreds of thousands of patients with severe or common mental health conditions the assistance they need. We will continue to develop our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT) in order to ensure that more people suffering from mental health conditions can be seen more quickly by qualified therapists.
The NHS offers free, confidential helplines to anyone suffering from a mental health issue. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines available. These helplines are run by trained volunteers. They offer a safe space to talk, or offer guidance and information on how to deal with your mental health issues.
There are also a number local organizations that can offer help and advice to those who suffer from mental health issues. Self-help guides, coping techniques and other activities are available. Many of these organisations provide support groups in person to those who prefer it.
The University's Open Door Team offers a drop-in counseling service for students who are experiencing stress or depression. Nightline is a student counselling service that offers confidential listening as well as information and support from experienced volunteers. Charities like Mind and Rethink can provide many sources of information and assistance, both on the internet and in local groups. They offer a variety of classes and activities, from mindfulness to art classes that are useful for people with mental health issues.
Referring someone to you
Mental health services are under pressure and GPs have to make difficult decisions about which specialist services to refer their 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 can refer a patient either to an NHS trust, or an independent provider.
A mental health professional will then evaluate the referral and decide whether it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't satisfied with the referral, they'll contact the GP and explain their reasons. They might also ask the GP to alter the referral or ask for more information.
The ability to refer patients to the local Community Mental Health Team can be made via the NHS e-Referral Service. The system allows GPs as well as other healthcare professionals to refer people to either a mental health assessment or directly to an appointment with an outpatient. However, not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system cannot be used for every type of mental health referral.
A GP may also decide to refer a patient to a specialized community mental health service (CMT). These are usually run either by an enormous hospital or a local healthcare organisation. CMTs can be a good alternative for those looking to see an experienced psychologist or psychiatrist, but don't need inpatient treatment. They can also offer an early intervention service where a psychiatrist works with a psychotherapist to help someone overcome a crisis or improve the quality of their life.
One of the biggest challenges that CMTs CMT is ensuring that all appropriate referrals are assigned within the appropriate timeframe. Many referrals are deemed urgent even though they may not be. This can cause patients who aren't in a crisis to be overwhelmed and suffer 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 case is urgent. The proforma includes a box for the referrer to check if they feel the referral is urgent.