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 providing services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan reaffirmed its commitment to increase investment in mental health services more quickly than overall NHS budget. This will include specialist work in suicide prevention.
Get assistance
One out of four of us will have mental health issues at some moment in our lives. The good news is that there are many different ways to seek assistance and the majority of us recover after a while. It is essential to know what help is available and who is able to provide it.
You can seek assistance from a variety of places, including your GP (primary care medical doctor) as well as your local health centre, or a community mental health team. These teams are comprised of occupational therapists, nurses, psychotherapists and speech and language therapists who work with people who use the service. You can get individual or group therapy, based on the type of help you require.
Your GP will typically ask you to fill in a form to refer you to a local mental health team. They will also ask you what type of assistance you require. You will be seen by an individual from the mental team, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. In certain instances the clinical nurse specialist will perform your assessment and treatment. You can call the NHS 111 helpline when you're in crisis. If you already receive mental health services it is recommended to contact your primary team first, unless it is out of hours, on a weekend or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health set out plans to establish more multidisciplinary, community-based, place-based mental health teams with links to primary care networks. These teams will enhance the quality of mental health care provided to those in crisis, and provide support to patients in their homes and community instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aimed to provide crisis services to more people by reducing waiting times and opening more beds. It would also introduce an ambulance for mental health and ensure that all ambulances are outfitted with a mental liaison nurse in the control room to make sure that people experiencing a mental crisis are helped in times of crisis.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a variety of treatment options to treat mental health conditions. GPs are usually able to treat less severe conditions, but more severe issues will require an expert team. These teams operate across community and primary mental health services, as well as the 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 most popular types of treatment. Previously known as IAPT the programs have seen referral numbers increase every year since their launch in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to expanding these programs to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medications are another crucial component of treatment. They can alleviate symptoms by altering the way the brain's chemicals work. They can also be used to ease side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will recommend the right medication for you.
A wide variety of talking therapy treatments are available, including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these therapies can be delivered in person, while others can be performed online. Some patients prefer face-to face treatment, but it's the choice of the patient. Mind is one of many charities that offer support groups and courses. Their website contains a wealth of information that is reliable, however you must be aware that there is lots of false or misleading information on the internet about mental health issues.
The NHS is advancing the quality of mental health care, but it's struggling to meet demand. There are 54 mental health trusts in the UK and the majority of them receive funding from clinical commissioning organizations to deliver their services. They are usually located in a specific area however, they may be contracted to provide national services.
A key issue is the lack of resources to meet rising demand. There are concerns about the quality and availability of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is working to improve the services by introducing new ways of work and providing more training. It also introduces more efficient and safer methods to treat people in crisis including mobile crisis teams, as well as safe areas.
Supporting you
Since the NHS was established 70 years ago there have been a lot of positive developments for people suffering from mental health problems. The options for treatment have grown and social barriers have been smashed down. But there is more to be done.
People who are suffering from a mental health crisis require the ability to get the assistance they require quickly and easily. That's why the NHS is working hard to improve the quality of services for those who need them. 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% will be in compliance with the core 24 standard by 2023/24. We will then work towards 100 percent coverage.
We will also extend services for those who require them in the community, including therapy for talking, which will give hundreds of thousands more patients with severe or common mental health issues the help they need. We will continue to develop our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT), so that more people suffering from mental health problems are seen faster by therapists who are qualified.
The NHS offers confidential, no-cost assistance to anyone suffering from mental health issues. They include the Samaritans, Mind and Rethink. These helplines are run by trained volunteers. They offer the opportunity to talk with someone in a secure environment, or offer advice and information on how to deal with your mental health issues.
Additionally, there are a number of local organizations that offer support and guidance for those with mental health issues. They can provide self-help guides, coping strategies and activities to try. Many of these organizations also provide support groups in person for those who prefer this method.
For students, there's the University's Open Door Team which offers the opportunity to visit a counselling center for those who feel down or stressed. There is also the Nightline student counselling service, which offers confidential listening and support from experienced volunteers, as well as information about other services. mental health assessment online uk like Mind and Rethink can provide a wealth of information and support both online and in local groups. They also offer a variety of classes and activities, from mindfulness to art classes that could be beneficial for people suffering from mental health problems.
Making a referral
With mental health services under pressure, GPs are having to make difficult decisions about the services they will refer patients to. The GP will take a patient's medical history into consideration and then refer them to a specialist they believe could be able to assist. They can 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 and explain their reasons. They can also request the GP for more details or to change the referral.
The referral to a local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) may be made via the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). The system allows GPs and other healthcare professionals to refer people to either a preliminary mental health assessment or directly to an outpatient appointment. However click the following page offer both options and the system cannot be used for every kind of mental health referral.
A GP may also refer patients to a mental health specialist in the community service (CMT). They are usually managed by a large hospital or local healthcare organization. CMTs can be a good option for those who want to consult a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist but don't require inpatient care. They also provide an early intervention program where psychiatrists collaborate with therapist in order to assist someone in overcoming any crisis or improve the quality of their lives.
One of the biggest challenges faced by a CMT is how to ensure that all appropriate referrals are assigned within an appropriate time frame. One of the challenges is that a lot of referrals are considered urgent, even though they might not be. This can cause people who aren't in crisis to be overworked and experience delays.
To tackle this issue, a few CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform standards for what constitutes an urgent referral. This was accomplished by using an established form that asks the referrer if they believe the case is urgent. The form has a checkbox that the referrer has to check if the request is urgent.