Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been an enormous increase in people seeking treatment for mental health issues, and the NHS has responded by providing 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.
Helping yourself
One in four people will be affected by mental illness at some time in their lives. The good news is that there are plenty of different ways to get help, and most people recover over time. It is essential to know what help is available, and who can offer it.
You can seek assistance from your doctor, your local health center, or a mental health service in your local area. These teams are comprised of occupational therapists, nurses, psychotherapists and speech and language therapists who work together with the people who utilize the service. Based on the kind of assistance you require, you may be offered individual or group therapy.
Your GP will typically require you to fill out the form so that they can make a referral to a local mental health team. They will also ask you to specify what kind of support you need. You will then be seen by a member of a mental health team, which may include a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some cases, your assessment and treatment will be carried out by a nurse specialist. If you're in a crisis, you can call the NHS 111 helpline for urgent assistance. If you're already being assisted by mental health services, it's a good idea to contact your regular team first unless it's out of normal hours, on a weekend or on a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to establish multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals in the community which are connected to primary care networks. These will help to improve the quality of care provided to those suffering from a mental health crisis and offer assistance in their homes and communities instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aims at making crisis services more accessible by decreasing wait times and opening up more beds. It also proposed to introduce mental health transport vehicles and make sure that all ambulances have an official who is a mental health liaison in their control rooms to ensure people suffering from a mental health crisis are assisted in emergencies.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a variety of treatment options to treat mental health conditions. Disorders that are less severe are usually treated by GPs and more severe conditions require an expert team. These teams operate in both community and primary healthcare facilities and psychiatric hospitals. You can also seek help in a safe space when you are in a crisis.
Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are among the main types of treatment. These programs, formerly known as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy), have seen their number of referrals increase every year since they were introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these programs to ensure that 1.9 million people will be able to access them by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medications are another crucial aspect of treatment. They can alleviate symptoms by altering the way that chemicals function in your brain. They can also help minimize the adverse effects of other treatments. Your doctor will recommend the right medication for you.
A wide variety of talking therapy options are offered which include group therapy as well as individual therapy. Some of these are delivered in person, but others can be delivered online. Some patients prefer face-to face treatment, but it is a matter of choice. There are a variety of charities that offer classes and support groups like Mind. The site is full of information that is reliable but you should be aware that there are a lot of false or misleading statements that are posted on the internet about mental health issues.
While the NHS is improving its mental health care but it's still struggling to cope with demand. In the UK there are 54 mental trusts. The majority of them receive funding from the clinical commissioning group. They are usually located in a specific region however they can also be commissioned to provide national services.
The main issue is the insufficient resources to meet the demands of the rising population. There are also concerns over the quality of care and the shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is trying to improve these services by offering more training and introducing new ways of working. It also offers more secure and efficient methods to treat people in crisis. These include mobile crisis teams and safe space.
Supporting you
Since the NHS launched 70 years ago there have been a lot of positive developments for those suffering from mental health issues. Treatment options have gotten more diverse and social barriers are being taken down. However, there is still much to be done.
Patients who are experiencing mental health problems require the ability to access the help they require quickly and easily. The NHS is working to improve services to ensure that those in need can get help. We will ensure that every acute hospital does not have a mental health liaison 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. Then we 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 more people with common or severe mental health conditions the support they require. We will continue to work on the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program so that more people can be visited by therapists who are qualified, quicker.
The NHS offers confidential, free helplines to anyone struggling with mental health issues. mental assessment include the Samaritans, Mind and Rethink. These helplines are run by volunteers who offer a safe place to talk or give advice and information on how to deal your mental health issues.
There are also a number local organisations that can provide support and guidance to people who suffer from mental health issues. They can provide self-help guides, coping strategies and activities to try. Many of these organisations offer face-toface support groups to those who would prefer it.
The University's Open Door Team offers a drop-in counseling service for students who are feeling down or stressed. Nightline is a student counselling service that offers confidential listening assistance, information and support from knowledgeable 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 activities and courses ranging including mindfulness classes to art classes, which can be beneficial for those suffering from mental health issues.
Referrals
Mental health services are under strain and GPs have to make difficult choices regarding which specialist services to refer their patients to. The doctor will take a patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a service they believe will be able to help. They may send a referral to an NHS trust or an independent provider.
A mental health professional will then evaluate the referral and decide if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist doesn't like the referral, they'll contact the GP and explain the reasons. They might request the GP to change the referral or request additional details.
Referrals to a local Community Mental Health Team can be made through the NHS e-Referral Service. The system permits GPs and other healthcare professionals to refer patients to either a mental health clinical assessment service or directly to an outpatient appointment. However, not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system can't be used for every kind of mental health referral.
A GP might decide to refer a person to a specialized community mental health service (CMT). They are typically run by a large local healthcare organisation or a hospital. CMTs are a great option for those who need to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist but do not require inpatient care. They also offer an early intervention service, where a psychiatrist works with a therapist to help a person overcome a problem or improve their quality of life.
One of the biggest challenges that a CMT is to ensure that all referrals are allocated within the appropriate timeframe. Many referrals are considered urgent even though they may not be. This can cause people who aren't in crisis to be overwhelmed and suffer delays.
To address this issue, some CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes a referral urgent. This is being achieved by using a standardised referral proforma that requires a referrer consider whether the case is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer can tick when they believe the referral is urgent.