Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been a huge rise in people seeking help for mental health issues, and the NHS has responded by providing services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made the commitment to increase investment in mental health services more quickly than the NHS budget in general. This includes specialist work in suicide prevention.
Get assistance
One in four of us will have mental health issues at some time in our lives. The good news is there are many avenues to seek help, and many of us will improve with time. It is essential to know what assistance is available and who is able to provide it.
You can get help from your GP or your local health center, or a mental health team within your local area. These teams comprise of occupational and nurse psychotherapists, as well as speech therapists. They collaborate with clients who seek their services. Depending on the type of assistance you require you could receive individual or group therapy.
Your doctor will typically request you to fill out a form so that they can refer you to a community mental health team. They will also talk to you about the kind of help you need. You will be assessed by a member of an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. In some instances, your assessment and treatment will be conducted by a specialist in clinical nursing. You can contact the NHS 111 helpline for assistance if you're in an emergency. If you are already receiving support for your mental health, it is best to contact your primary team first, unless it's out of hours, 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 the care delivered to people experiencing a crisis, and will provide assistance to those in their homes and community rather than in hospitals.
The plan also aims at making crisis services accessible by reducing wait times and opening up more beds. It also proposed to introduce mental health transport vehicles and make sure that every ambulance has an official who is a mental health liaison in their control rooms to improve the way people suffering from an illness of mental health are helped in times of crisis.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a wide range of treatment options for people suffering from mental health problems. Less severe disorders are often treated by GPs however more severe conditions require an expert team. These teams work in primary and community mental healthcare services, as well psychiatric hospital. There are also safe places where you can seek help when you're in a state of crisis.
Talking therapies are among the most commonly used forms of treatment for depression and anxiety. Previously referred to as IAPT, these programs have seen referrals increase each year since their introduction in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to 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 alleviate symptoms by altering the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also help reduce the effects of other treatments. see page will recommend the right medication for you.
There are many different types of talking therapies, including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these therapies are offered in person, while other can be performed remotely. Some patients prefer to receive treatment in person, but this is a personal decision. There are also a number of charities which offer classes and support groups like Mind. Their website contains a wealth of information that is reliable, however you must be aware of the fact that there's a lot of misleading or false information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.
While the NHS is working to improve its mental health care but it's still struggling to keep up with demand. There are 54 mental health trusts in the UK and the majority of are funded by clinical commissioning organizations to deliver their services. They typically are located in a specific area however they can also be commissioned to provide national services.
The absence of resources is a major issue. There are concerns about the quality and availability of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is trying to improve these services by providing more training and introducing new ways of working. It also offers more secure and efficient methods to treat those who are in crisis. This includes mobile crisis teams and secure space.
Supporting you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago, there have been positive developments for those with mental health issues. Treatment options have increased and social barriers are being broken down. But there is still more to be done.
People who are experiencing mental illness need to receive the assistance they require quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is working hard to improve the services available to those who require these services. We will ensure that every acute hospital is without a mental health liaison in A&E departments and wards for inpatients by 2020/21, and that 70% of these services will be in line with the 'core 24' standard by 2023/24, working towards a 100% coverage rate after that.
We will also extend services for people who need them in the community, including psychotherapy, in order to provide thousands of more people with common or severe mental health conditions the support they require. 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 more quickly.
The NHS offers confidential, no-cost assistance to anyone suffering from mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines available. These helplines are run by volunteers who provide a safe place to talk or give advice and information about how to handle your mental health issues.
There are a variety of local organisations that can provide help and advice to those with mental health issues. These can include self-help guides, coping strategies and activities to try. Many of these organizations provide support groups in person for those who prefer it.
For students, there's the University's Open Door Team which offers a drop-in counselling service for those feeling depressed or stressed. Nightline is a student counselling service that provides confidential listening, support and information from experienced volunteers. Charities such as Mind and Rethink can provide an abundance of information and support both online and in local groups. They can provide a variety of activities and courses ranging from mindfulness to art classes that can be beneficial for those suffering from mental health issues.
Referrals
With mental health services under pressure, GPs are having to make difficult decisions about which specialist services they can refer patients to. The GP will take a patient's medical history into account and then recommend them to a service they believe could be able to assist. They may send a referral to an NHS trust or an independent provider.
A mental health professional will assess the referral to determine if the referral is appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't happy with the referral they will contact the GP to discuss their decision and provide why. They could also ask the GP to modify the referral or request additional details.
Referrals to a local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) may be made via the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). The system lets doctors and other healthcare professionals send patients to either an initial clinical assessment for mental health or directly to an appointment. Not all CMHTs offer both options and the system is not able to be used for all types of mental health referrals.
A GP can also refer patients to a community mental health specialist service (CMT). They are typically operated by a large local healthcare organization or hospital. CMTs are a good choice for those who have to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist but don't require inpatient treatment. They can also offer an early intervention service in which a psychiatrist works with a psychotherapist to assist someone in overcoming a crisis or improve the quality of their life.
One of the challenges faced by CMTs CMT is how to ensure that all referrals are allocated within the appropriate timeframe. Many referrals are deemed urgent even though they may not be. This can cause people who aren't in crisis to be overwhelmed and suffer delays.
To tackle this issue, some CMHTs are trying to establish more uniform guidelines for what is an urgent referral. This was achieved by using a standardised form which asks the referrer if they believe the case is urgent. The form includes a box for the referrer to tick in the event that they believe the referral is urgent.