Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been a huge increase 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 faster than the overall NHS budget. This includes special suicide prevention services.
Get assistance
One out of four of us will experience mental health issues at some moment in our lives. The good news is that there are a variety of different ways to seek assistance and the majority of us recover with time. It is essential to know what assistance is available and who can provide it.
You can seek help from a variety of places like your GP (primary care medical doctor) as well as your local health center or a community mental health team. These teams consist of nurses, occupational therapists psychotherapists, psychotherapists, and speech and language therapists who collaborate with the people who utilize the service. Based on the kind of assistance you require, you may be offered individual or group therapy.
You will be asked to fill out a form by your doctor so that they can refer you to a mental health team in the community. They will also talk with you about the kind of help you require. full mental health assessment will be assessed by a member of an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals like psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some instances a clinical nurse specialist will conduct your assessment and treatment. You can call the NHS 111 helpline when you're in a crisis. If you are already receiving mental health services it is recommended to contact your regular team first, unless it is out of office hours, on a weekend or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health included plans to establish more multidisciplinary, community-based, place-based mental health teams with links to primary care networks. They will improve the quality of the care provided to those suffering from a mental health crisis and provide support within their communities and homes rather than in hospitals.
The plan also aims at making crisis services accessible by decreasing wait times and allowing more beds. It would also introduce a mental transport vehicle and ensure that all ambulances are outfitted with a mental liaison nurse in the control room to make sure that those who are experiencing mental distress are supported during emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a wide range of treatment options for mental health conditions. Less severe disorders are often treated by GPs and more serious disorders require an expert team. These teams operate across community and primary mental health services, as well as the psychiatric hospitals. There are also safe places where you can get help if you are feeling in crisis.
Talking therapies for depression and anxiety are among the most popular treatments. Previously referred to as IAPT, these programs have seen the number of people who seek them increase each year since their introduction in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has set the goal of expanding these services to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric drugs are a different component of treatment. They can improve symptoms by altering the way the brain's chemicals work. They can be used to minimize the adverse effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the appropriate medicine for you.
A wide variety of talking therapy options are offered including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these can be delivered in person, whereas others can be done remotely. Some patients prefer treatment in person, but this is a personal preference. Mind is one of the charities that offer support groups and classes. Their website has a lot of reliable information, but you should be aware that there's a lot of false or misleading information available on the internet regarding 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. They receive the majority of funding for their services from the clinical commissioning groups. They are usually located in a particular region however, they are also able to be commissioned to deliver national services.
The main issue is the lack of resources to meet rising demand. There are also concerns about the quality of care and there is a shortage of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is striving to improve its services by introducing new ways of working and offering more training. It is also introducing safer and more effective ways to assist people in need like mobile crisis teams and secure places.
Supporting you
Since the NHS was established 70 years ago, there have been many positive developments for people suffering from mental health problems. The treatment options have gotten better and social barriers have been broken down. However, there is much to do.
People who are in mental illness need to receive the assistance they require quickly and easily. The NHS is working to improve its services to ensure that those who need them can get assistance. By 2020/21 we will ensure that all acute hospitals have a mental-health liaison service that is available in A&E as well as on wards for patients, and that 70% of these will meet the standard of 24 by 2023/24. Then we will strive to achieve 100 percent coverage.
We will also extend services for people who need them in the community, which includes talking therapies, to give thousands of more patients with severe or common mental health issues the help they require. 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 therapists who are qualified.
The NHS offers confidential, free helplines to those suffering from mental health issues. These include the Samaritans, Mind and Rethink. These helplines are operated by trained volunteers. They provide the opportunity to talk with someone in a secure environment or provide information and advice on how to deal with your mental health concerns.
There are also a number local organizations that 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 organisations also provide support groups in person for those who would prefer this type of support.
The University's Open Door Team offers a drop-in counseling service for students experiencing stress or depression. Nightline is a student counseling service that offers private 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 such as online and through local groups. They can also offer many courses and activities, from mindfulness to art classes that could be beneficial for people suffering from mental health issues.
Referrals
Mental health services are under strain and GPs have to make difficult decisions about the best specialist services to refer their patients to. The GP will look at the patient's medical background and refer them to services they believe will be able assist. They can send a referral to an NHS trust, or an independent provider.
A mental health professional will review the referral to determine if the referral is appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't satisfied with the referral, they'll call the GP to discuss their decision and provide the reasons. They might also ask the GP to alter the referral or ask for more details.
Referrals 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 patients to either a pre-mental health clinical assessment or directly to an appointment with an outpatient. Not all CMHTs offer both options and the system can't be used for all types of mental health referrals.
A GP might decide to refer a patient to an expert community mental health service (CMT). They are typically run by a large local healthcare organisation or hospital. CMTs are a great option for those who need to see a psychiatrist or psychologist but do not require inpatient treatment. They also provide an early intervention program where psychiatrists work with a therapist in order to assist a person overcome a crisis or improve the quality of their life.
One of the challenges faced by CMTs CMT is how to ensure that all suitable referrals are allocated within the appropriate timeframe. One of the problems is that a large number of referrals are deemed as urgent, even though they may not be. This can result in over-working and delays for people who are not in crisis.
To combat this problem, some 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 the case is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer has to check to indicate if the referral is urgent.