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 amount of money spent on mental health services quicker than the NHS budget in general. This will include specialist work in suicide prevention.
Need help?
One in four people will suffer from mental illness at one point during their lives. The good news is that there are many different ways to seek help, and most people recover after a while. It is crucial to know what assistance is available and who can offer it.
You can seek help from your doctor or your local health center or mental health team within your local area. These teams consist of nurses, occupational and speech therapists, and psychotherapists. They collaborate with patients who require their services. Based on the type of help you need you could receive individual or group therapy.
Your GP will usually request you to fill out a form so that they can refer you to a community mental health team. They will also speak to you about the kind of assistance you require. You will then be seen by someone from a mental health team that may comprise a psychiatrist psychologist or social worker. In some instances your evaluation and treatment will be performed by a specialist in clinical nursing. You can contact 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 try and contact your usual team first, unless it's outside of the normal hours, a weekend or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to create multidisciplinary mental health teams in the community which are connected to primary care networks. They will improve the quality of care that is delivered to people who are suffering from a mental health crisis. They will also offer assistance within their communities and homes, rather than in hospital.
The plan also aims at making crisis services more accessible by decreasing waiting times and opening more beds. It also proposes the introduction of mental health transport vehicles and make sure that all ambulances have a mental health liaison nurse in their control rooms to improve the way people suffering from mental health issues are supported in emergency situations.
More inspiring ideas offers a wide array of treatment options for mental health conditions. Disorders that are less severe are usually treated by GPs and more severe conditions require a specialist team. These teams operate across both community and primary mental health services, and also the psychiatric hospitals. You can also seek help in a secure space if you feel in crisis.
Talking therapies are among the most common types of treatment for anxiety and depression. These programs, previously referred to as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy), have seen their referral numbers increase every year since they were introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has set the goal of expanding these services to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medicines are also a vital element of treatment. They can alleviate symptoms by altering the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also be used to reduce the side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the best medication for you.
There are many kinds of talk therapies, such as group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these therapies can be offered in person, while other are available remotely. Some patients prefer face-to-face treatment, but it is a matter of choice. There are also a lot of charities which offer support groups and courses like Mind. Their website has a lot of reliable information, but you should be aware that there is plenty of misleading or false information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.
The NHS is improving mental health care but it struggles to meet the demands. In the UK there are 54 mental trusts. Most of them receive funding for their services from the clinical commissioning group. They usually are located in a particular region, but they can be commissioned to offer national services.
A key issue is the lack of resources to meet the growing demand. There are also concerns over the quality of care, and there is a shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is working to improve the quality of care by delivering more training and introducing new ways of working. It also introduces safer and more effective ways to help people in crisis like mobile crisis teams and secure areas.
Helping you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago there have been numerous positive changes for people with mental health issues. Treatment options have expanded and social barriers are being broken down. But there is still more to do.
People who are in mental illness need to receive the help they require quickly and easily. The NHS is working to improve its services so that people in need are able to access help. By 2020/21, we will make sure that all acute hospitals have a mental health liaison service, both in A&E and on wards for inpatients, and that 70% of these will meet the standard of 24 by 2023/24. We will then strive to achieve 100 percent coverage.
We will also increase services for the community, such as talking therapy, to offer assistance to hundreds of thousands of individuals suffering from mental health conditions, whether they are serious or common. We will continue to work on our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT) in order to ensure that more people with mental health problems can be seen more quickly by qualified therapists.
The NHS offers free, confidential helplines for anyone suffering from mental health issues. They include the Samaritans, Mind and Rethink. These helplines are operated by trained volunteers. They offer an environment where you can talk in a safe manner, or offer information and advice on how to deal with your mental health concerns.
There are also a number local organizations that provide assistance and support to those with mental health issues. These can include self-help guides, strategies for coping and activities to try. 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 an opportunity to consult with a counsellor at any time for those who are feeling depressed or stressed. Nightline is a student counseling service that provides confidential listening as well as information and support from knowledgeable volunteers. Charities like Mind and Rethink are a great source of information. They can provide support in various forms that include online and through local groups. They also provide various courses and activities, from mindfulness to art groups that could be beneficial for people suffering from mental health problems.
Referrals
With mental health services under pressure, GPs have to make difficult choices about which specialist services they can refer patients to. The GP will take a patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a specialist they think can assist. They may send a referral to an NHS trust, or to an independent provider.
A mental health specialist will assess the referral to determine if the referral is appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't satisfied with the referral they will call the GP to discuss their decision and provide the reason. They might request the GP to alter the referral or ask for more details.
The ability to refer patients to a local Community Mental Health Team can be made via the NHS e-Referral Service. The system allows GPs and other healthcare professionals to refer patients to either a pre-mental health clinical assessment or directly to an appointment with an outpatient. However not all CMHTs offer both options and the system cannot be used for every kind of mental health referral.
A doctor may decide to refer a patient to an expert community mental health service (CMT). These are usually operated by a large local healthcare organization or hospital. CMTs are an excellent option for those who require to consult a psychologist or psychiatrist but do not require inpatient care. They can also provide an early intervention service where a psychiatrist collaborates with the counselor to help someone overcome a crisis or increase their life quality.
One of the challenges that CMTs CMT is to ensure that all appropriate referrals are allocated within an appropriate time frame. Many referrals are considered urgent, even though they might not be. This can cause patients who aren't in a crisis to be rushed and suffer delays.
To tackle this issue, some CMHTs are trying to establish more uniform standards for what constitutes an urgent referral. This is being achieved through the use of a standardised referral proforma that requires the referrer to decide if the situation is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer can tick if they feel that the referral is urgent.