This Is The Ultimate Guide To Mental Health Services NHS
Mental Health Services on the NHS
The NHS has responded to the increase in mental health issues by providing services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made the commitment to increase the amount of money spent on mental health services more quickly than the NHS budget overall. Learn Even more will include the work of a specialist in suicide prevention.
Get assistance
One out of four of us will have a mental health problem at some moment in our lives. The good news is that there are a variety of ways to seek help, and most of us will improve over time. It's important to understand what assistance is available and who can provide it.
You can seek help from a variety of places such as your doctor (primary medical doctor for primary care) as well as your local health centre, or a community mental health team. These teams are made up of occupational therapists, nurses psychotherapists, psychotherapists, and speech and language therapists who work with the people who utilize the service. You may receive individual or group therapy, based on the type of help you need.
You will be asked to fill out a form by your GP so that they can refer you to a mental health professional in the community. They will also ask you what type of assistance you require. You will be assessed by a member of an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals which includes psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. In certain instances the assessment and treatment will be conducted by a nurse specialist. You can call the NHS 111 helpline if you are in an emergency. If you're already being assisted by mental health services, it's a good idea to call your usual team first, unless it's outside of normal hours, on a weekend or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health outlined plans to create more multidisciplinary, place-based community mental health teams with links to primary care networks. These will help to improve the quality of the care provided to those experiencing an illness of mental health and offer support within their communities and homes instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aimed to make crisis services more accessible by reducing waiting times and allowing more beds. It would also include an ambulance for mental health and ensure that all ambulances are stocked with an individual who is a mental liaison nurse in the control room to make sure that those who are experiencing mental distress are helped in times of crisis.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a wide range of treatment options for mental health conditions. GPs typically have the ability to treat less severe illnesses, however more serious conditions will require an expert team. These teams work across primary and community mental health services, and also psychiatric hospitals. You can also seek assistance in a safe space when you are in a crisis.
Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are among the main treatments. These programs, formerly known as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy), have seen their numbers of clients increase each year since they launched in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these services to ensure that 1.9 million people will be able to use them in 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medicines are also an important element of treatment. They can alleviate symptoms by altering the way that chemicals function in your brain. They can also help alleviate the side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will suggest the right medication for you.
A variety of talk therapy treatments are available which include group therapy as well as individual therapy. Some of them are offered in person, but others can be delivered remotely. Some patients prefer to receive treatment in person, but that is a personal preference. There are a variety of charities which offer classes and support groups, such as Mind. The site is full of information that is trustworthy but you should be aware of the fact that there are numerous false or misleading statements that are posted on the internet about mental health issues.
The NHS is working to improve the mental health system, 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 groups. They are usually located in a specific area however, they are also able to be contracted to provide national services.
The shortage of resources is a major problem. There are concerns about the quality and availability of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is trying to improve the quality of care by delivering more training and developing new ways of working. It also introduces more secure and efficient methods of treating those who are in crisis. This includes mobile crisis teams, as well as safe space.
Helping you
Since the NHS was established 70 years ago there have been positive developments for people suffering from mental health issues. Treatment options have gotten more diverse and social barriers are being broken down. But there's still a lot to be done.
People who are in a mental crisis need to get the help they need quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is putting in the effort to improve the quality of services for those who need these services. We will ensure that no acute hospital is without the mental health liaison service in A&E departments and wards for inpatients by 2020/21. We will also ensure that 70% of these services will meet the "core 24" standard by 2023/24, working towards achieving 100% coverage afterward.
We will also expand community services, including talking therapy, in order to provide assistance to hundreds of thousands of people with mental health issues regardless of whether they are severe or common. We will continue to develop the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme so that more people can be seen by qualified therapists, more quickly.
The NHS offers free, confidential helplines for anyone suffering from mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines that are available. These helplines are run by volunteers who provide a safe place to talk or offer advice and guidance on how to deal your mental health issues.
There are also a number local organizations that provide support and guidance to people who suffer from mental health issues. They can provide self-help guides, strategies for coping and activities to try. Many of these organisations also offer face-to-face support groups for those who prefer this method.
The University's Open Door Team offers a drop-in counseling service for students who are struggling or stressed. Nightline is a student counseling service that offers confidential listening, support and information from knowledgeable volunteers. Charities like Mind and Rethink can provide many sources of information and support, both on the internet and in local groups. They can also offer various classes and activities, from mindfulness to art classes that could be beneficial for people suffering from mental health problems.
Referrals
Mental health services are under strain and GPs are forced to make difficult choices regarding the best specialist services to refer their patients to. The doctor will take the patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a specialist they believe will be able to help. They may refer a patient to an NHS trust or an independent provider.
A mental health specialist will then evaluate the referral and decide whether it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't happy with the referral, they'll contact the GP to discuss their decision and explain why. They can also ask the GP for more information or to change the referral.
Referrals to a local Community Mental Health Team can be made via the NHS e-Referral Service. The system lets doctors and other healthcare professionals direct patients to an initial clinical assessment service 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 may refer a patient to a community mental health specialist service (CMT). They are usually managed by a large hospital or local health care organization. CMTs are a great option for people who wish to consult a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist but don't require inpatient care. They also provide an early intervention program where psychiatrists work with a therapy therapist to assist someone in overcoming an issue or improve the quality of their life.
CMTs are faced with the task of making sure that all referrals are made within a reasonable amount of time. One of the challenges is that a lot of referrals are deemed as urgent, even though they may not be. This can lead people who aren't experiencing a crisis to be overwhelmed and suffer delays.
To tackle this issue, some CMHTs are trying to establish more uniform standards for what constitutes an urgent referral. This has been achieved through the use of an established referral form that requires a referrer consider whether the case is urgent. The proforma includes a box that the referrer can tick if they feel the referral is urgent.