Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been an enormous rise in people seeking help for mental health issues and the NHS has responded by offering services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan reaffirmed its commitment to invest more in mental health services more quickly than overall NHS budget. This will include specialist suicide prevention work.
Get assistance
One out of four people will suffer from mental illness at some time in their lives. The good news is that there are many different ways to seek help and most of us recover over time. But it's important to know what help is available and who can provide it.
You can seek help from your GP, your local health center, or a mental health service in your community. These teams are comprised of nurses, occupational and psychotherapists and speech therapists. They work with patients who require their services. Depending on the type of help you need you might be provided with individual or group therapy.
Your GP will typically require you to fill out an application form so that they can make a referral to a community mental health team. They will also talk to you about what kind of help you require. You will be seen by an individual from the mental team, such as psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some cases a clinical nurse specialist will carry out your assessment and treatment. You can call the NHS 111 helpline if you are in crisis. If you already receive mental health support It is recommended to contact your regular team first, unless it is out of office hours, on a weekend, or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to create multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals in the community that are linked to primary care networks. These will help to improve the quality of the care given to those experiencing a mental health crisis and provide support in their homes and communities rather than in hospitals.
The plan aims to make emergency services available by reducing wait times and opening up more beds. It would also introduce an ambulance for mental health and ensure that all ambulances are outfitted with a mental liaison nurse within the control room to ensure that people experiencing a mental crisis are assisted 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 are spread across both community and primary mental health services as well as mental health hospitals. You can also seek assistance in a secure space when you are in a crisis.
Talking therapies are among the most common types of treatment for depression and anxiety. These programs, previously referred to as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy) have seen their number of referrals increase each year since they introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these programs to ensure that 1.9 million people will be able to use them in 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medications are also a crucial part of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by altering the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also help alleviate the side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the right medicine for you.
A wide range of talking therapy options are offered, including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these are delivered in person, but others are available via a remote device. Some patients prefer face-to face treatment, but it is the choice of the patient. There are a variety of charities that offer classes and support groups, such as Mind. Their website is full of information that is reliable, however you should be aware of the fact that there's a lot of false or misleading information on the internet about mental health issues.
The NHS is improving the quality of mental health care, but it is struggling to meet the demand. In the UK, there are 54 mental trusts. They receive the majority of funding from the clinical commissioning group. They are typically located in a specific area however, they are also able to be contracted to provide national services.
One of the main issues is the lack of resources to meet the growing demand. There are concerns about the quality and availability of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is trying to improve the quality of care by delivering more training and introducing new ways of working. It also provides more secure and efficient methods of treating those who are in crisis. These include mobile crisis teams, as well as safe space.
Supporting you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago there have been numerous positive changes for people with mental health issues. The treatment options have gotten better and social barriers have been taken down. But there is much more to be done.
People experiencing mental health issues need to be able to access the help they require quickly and easily. That's why the NHS is putting in the effort to improve the services available to those who require them. In 2020/21, we will ensure that all acute hospitals have a mental health liaison service that is available in A&E and on inpatient wards, and that 70% of them will meet the core 24 standard by 2023/24. Then we will work towards 100% coverage.
We will also expand services for the community, such as talking therapy, to provide support for hundreds of thousands of individuals suffering from mental health problems regardless of whether they are severe or common. We will continue to work on the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme so that more people are treated by trained therapists more quickly.
The NHS provides free, confidential helplines to anyone suffering from mental health issues. They include the Samaritans, Mind and Rethink. These helplines are run by trained volunteers. They provide an environment where you can talk in a safe manner or give advice and information on how to tackle your mental health issues.
In addition there are a variety of local organizations that offer support and guidance for those with mental health issues. These include self-help guides, coping strategies, and activities to try. Many of these organizations offer support groups that meet face-to-face for those who prefer it.
The University's Open Door Team offers a drop-in counseling service for students who are struggling or stressed. There's also the Nightline student counselling service, which offers confidential listening and support from skilled volunteers, or details about other services. private ptsd assessment as Mind and Rethink are a excellent source of information and can offer support in many forms, including online and through local groups. They can offer a range of classes and activities, including mindfulness classes to art classes that are useful for people with mental health issues.
Making a referral
With mental health services under pressure, GPs have to make difficult decisions about what specialist services they should refer patients to. The doctor will take a patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a service they think will be able to help. They may refer a patient to an NHS trust or an independent provider.
A mental health professional will then review the referral and decide if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't satisfied with the referral, they'll contact the GP to discuss their decision and provide the reason. They may request the GP to alter the referral or request more details.
The ability to refer patients to the local Community Mental Health Team can be made using the NHS e-Referral Service. The system allows GPs as well as other healthcare professionals to refer people to either a preliminary mental health assessment or directly to an appointment with an outpatient. However, not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system can't be used for every type of mental health referral.
A doctor may also refer a patient to a mental health specialist in the community service (CMT). They are typically run by a large hospital or local health care organization. CMTs can be a good option for those who want to consult a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist but do not require inpatient treatment. They can also provide an early intervention service where a psychiatrist works with an counselor to help someone overcome a crisis or increase their quality of life.
CMTs face the challenge of making sure that all referrals are received within a reasonable amount of time. Many referrals are deemed urgent, even though they might not be. This can cause people who aren't experiencing a crisis to be rushed and suffer delays.
To tackle this issue, some CMHTs are trying to establish more consistent standards for what is considered an urgent referral. This is being achieved through the use of the standardised referral forma that requires the referrer to consider whether the case is urgent. The proforma has a box that the referrer is able to tick to indicate if the referral is urgent.
