Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been an enormous increase in people seeking help for mental health issues and the NHS has responded by offering services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made a renewed commitment to grow investment in mental health services faster than the NHS budget in general. This will include specialist work in suicide prevention.
Getting help
One in 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 different options to seek help and most of us recover after a while. It is essential to know what assistance is available and who can provide it.
You can seek help from your doctor or the local health center or mental health team in your community. These teams consist of nurses, occupational and psychotherapists, as well as speech therapists. They work with the people who use their services. Depending on the type of help you require you might be provided with individual or group therapy.
You will be asked to complete a form with your GP so they can refer you to a mental health service in the community. They will also talk to you about the kind of help you need. Then, you will be viewed by a member of the mental health team that may include a psychiatrist, social worker or psychologist. In some cases the assessment and treatment will be carried out by a clinical nurse specialist. If mental health assessments 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 try and contact your usual team first, unless it's outside of normal hours, on a weekend or on a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health included plans to establish more place-based, multidisciplinary community mental health teams, with connections to primary care networks. These teams will increase the quality of the mental health services that is provided to those who are in a crisis, and offer support to them in their own homes and communities instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aimed to provide crisis services to more people by reducing wait times and allowing more beds. It also proposes the introduction of mental health transport vehicles and ensure that every ambulance has a mental health liaison nurse in their control rooms to improve the way that those suffering from a mental health crisis are helped in times of crisis.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a wide range of treatment options for mental health conditions. GPs are usually able to treat less severe illnesses, however more serious issues will require an expert team. These teams operate across primary and community mental health services as well as mental health hospitals. You can also seek assistance in a safe space should you be in a state of crisis.
Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are one of the main kinds of treatment. These programs, previously known as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy) have seen their number of referrals increase each year since they were launched in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to expanding these programs to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
The use of psychiatric medication is also a vital part of treatment. They can improve symptoms by changing the way the brain's chemicals work. They can also help ease side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will recommend a medicine that is right for you.
There are many different types of talk therapy, including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these can be delivered in person, but others can be done via a remote device. Some patients prefer face-to face treatment, but it's a matter of choice. Mind is one of the charities that offer support groups and courses. Their website is full of information that is reliable, however you must be aware of the fact that there's plenty of inaccurate or misleading information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.
While the NHS is advancing its mental health care but it's still struggling to meet the demands. There are 54 mental health trusts in the UK and the majority of are funded by clinical commissioning groups to provide their services. They are typically located in a specific area however, they can also be contracted to provide national services.
The main issue is the lack of resources to meet the demands of the rising population. There are also concerns about the quality of care, and the shortage of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is working to improve the quality of care by delivering more training and developing new ways of working. It also introduces more secure and efficient methods to help people in crisis including mobile crisis teams and safe spaces.
Supporting you
Since the NHS was established 70 years ago, there have been many positive developments for those suffering from mental health problems. The options for treatment have grown and social barriers have been smashed down. However, there is much to be done.
People who are in mental illness need to get the help they need quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is striving to improve the services available to those who require these services. We will ensure that no acute hospital is without a mental health liaison service in A&E departments and wards for patients by 2020/21. 70 percent of these services will meet the "core 24" standard by 2023/24. Then we will work towards 100% coverage thereafter.
We will also expand community services, including talk therapy, to offer assistance to hundreds of thousands of people with mental health problems, whether they are serious or common. We will continue to work on the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme so that more people are treated by trained therapists quicker.
The NHS provides confidential, free helplines to those suffering from mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines that are available. These helplines are run by trained volunteers. They provide the opportunity to talk with someone in a secure environment, or offer advice and information on how to manage your mental health issues.
Additionally, there are a number of local organisations which can provide support and guidance to people with mental health problems. Self-help guides, coping techniques and activities can be included. Many of these organizations offer support groups that meet face-to-face for those who prefer it.
For students, there's the University's Open Door Team which offers a drop-in counselling service for those feeling down or stressed. Nightline is a student counseling service that offers private listening assistance, information and support from knowledgeable volunteers. Charities such as Mind and Rethink are a excellent source of information and provide support in a variety of ways such as online and through local groups. They can provide a variety of courses and activities including mindfulness classes to art classes, which are beneficial for those with mental health issues.
Referrals
Mental health services are under pressure and GPs are forced to make difficult decisions about which specialist services to refer their patients to. The GP will look at the medical history of the patient and recommend them to services they believe will be able to aid. They can refer a patient either to an NHS trust, or an independent provider.
A mental health professional will then assess the referral and decide whether it's appropriate or not. If the specialist doesn't like the referral, they will contact the GP and explain their reasons. They might request the GP to change the referral or request more information.
The ability to refer patients to the local Community Mental Health Team can be made via the NHS e-Referral Service. The system lets doctors and other healthcare professionals refer patients to either an initial clinical assessment service for mental health or directly to an appointment. However there are some exceptions. CMHTs provide both options, and the system isn't able to be used for every kind of mental health referral.
A GP may also refer a patient to a community mental health specialist service (CMT). These are usually run by a major local health organization or a hospital. CMTs are an excellent option for those who need to consult a psychologist or psychiatrist, but do not require inpatient treatment. They also provide an early intervention service where psychiatrists work with a therapy therapist to assist someone in overcoming a crisis or improve the quality of their life.
CMTs have the responsibility of making sure that all referrals are made within a reasonable amount of time. One of the problems is that a lot of referrals are considered urgent, even though they may not be. This can lead to delays and over-working for people who aren't in need.
To address 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 to indicate if the case is urgent. private mental health diagnosis includes a box for the referrer to tick when they believe that the referral is urgent.