Mental Health Services on the NHS
The NHS has responded to the rise in mental health issues by providing services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made a renewed commitment to grow the investment in mental health services more quickly than the NHS budget overall. This will include the work of a specialist in suicide prevention.
Helping yourself
One in four of us will experience mental health issues at some point in our lives. The good news is that there are many ways to get help, and many of us will improve with time. It is important to know the types of help available and who can provide it.
You can seek assistance from a variety of places such as your GP (primary medical doctor for primary care) as well as your local health centre, or a community mental health team. These teams are comprised of occupational therapists, nurses psychotherapists, psychotherapists and speech and language therapists who work together with those who utilize the service. Depending on the type of help you need you could receive individual or group therapy.
Your doctor will typically ask you to fill in a form to make a referral to a local mental health team. They will also speak to you about what kind of help you need. You will be assessed by a member of an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals, such as psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. In certain instances, a clinical nurse specialist will conduct your assessment and treatment. If you're experiencing an emergency, you can call the NHS 111 helpline for immediate support. If you're already being supported by mental health services it's a good idea to try and contact your usual team first unless it's out of normal hours, on a weekend or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health outlined plans to create more multidisciplinary, place-based community mental health teams that have links to primary care networks. These teams will improve the quality of the mental health services that is provided to those who are in a crisis, and provide support to them in their own homes and communities instead of in hospitals.
The plan aims to make crisis services more accessible by cutting down wait times and allowing more beds. It would also include the mental transport vehicle and ensure that all ambulances are outfitted with a mental liaison nurse in the control room to ensure that patients who are suffering from mental illness are supported during emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a variety of treatment options to treat mental health conditions. The less severe disorders are typically treated by GPs however more severe conditions require an expert team. These teams work in primary and community healthcare facilities and psychiatric hospitals. There are also safe spaces where you can seek assistance when you're in a state of crisis.
Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are among the most popular treatments. These programs, previously referred to 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 commits to expanding these programs to ensure that 1.9 million people can access them in 2023/2024.
The use of psychiatric medication is also a crucial element of treatment. They can alleviate symptoms by changing the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also be used to ease side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the best 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 are available remotely. Some patients prefer receiving treatment in person, but that is a personal choice. There are also a number of charities which offer classes and support groups, such as Mind. Their website is full of trustworthy information, but you should be aware that there is a lot of inaccurate or misleading information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.
The NHS is working to improve the mental health system, but it struggles to meet demand. 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 specific region, but they can be contracted 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 working to improve the services by introducing new methods of work and delivering more training. It also provides more more info efficient and safer methods of treating people who are in crisis. These include mobile crisis teams, as well as safe space.
Helping you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago there have been a lot of positive developments for people suffering from mental health problems. The treatment options have increased and social barriers have been smashed down. But there is more to be done.
People experiencing mental health problems require the ability to access the assistance they require quickly and easily. That's why the NHS is working hard to improve the services available to those who need these services. In 2020/21, we will ensure that all acute hospitals offer a mental health liaison service both in A&E as well as on wards for patients and that 70% of them will meet the standard of 24 by 2023/24. Then we will strive for 100% coverage.
We will also increase services for the community, such as talking therapy, to provide support for hundreds of thousands of individuals suffering from mental health issues, 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 can be seen by qualified therapists, faster.
The NHS offers confidential, no-cost helplines to anyone struggling with mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines that are available. These helplines are operated by trained volunteers and provide the opportunity to talk with read more someone in a secure environment or provide guidance and information on how to manage your mental health issues.
In addition, there are a number of local organisations which can provide assistance and support for those with mental health issues. These include self-help guides, coping strategies and activities to try. Many of these organisations 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 the opportunity to visit a counselling center for those feeling low or stressed. There is also the Nightline student counselling service that provides confidential listening and support from experienced volunteers, as well as information about other services. Charities such as Mind and Rethink can provide an abundance of information and support, both online and in local groups. They also offer a variety of courses and activities, from mindfulness to art groups which can be helpful for people suffering from mental health issues.
Referrals
With mental health services under pressure, GPs have to make difficult decisions regarding which specialist services they can refer patients to. The GP will take a patient's medical history into consideration and then recommend them to a service they think will be able to help. They can refer a patient either to an NHS trust or an independent provider.
A mental health specialist will examine the referral to determine if the referral is appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't happy with the referral, they will read more call the GP and explain their reasons. They can also request the GP for more information or to alter the referral.
The referral to a local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) can be made through the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). The system lets doctors and other healthcare professionals to send patients to either a preliminary clinical assessment service for mental health or directly to mental health assesment an appointment. However, not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system can't be used for every type of mental health referral.
A GP may also decide to refer a person to a specialist community mental health service (CMT). They are typically run by a large hospital or local healthcare organization. CMTs are a great option for people who wish to consult with a seasoned psychologist or psychiatrist but do not require inpatient treatment. They can also offer an early intervention program where a psychiatrist works with a therapy therapist to assist someone in overcoming a crisis or improve the quality of their life.
One of the challenges faced by CMTs CMT is read more ensuring that all appropriate referrals are assigned within an appropriate time frame. Many referrals are deemed urgent, even though they might not be. This can result in delays and over-working for people who aren't in a crisis.
To tackle this issue, some CMHTs are trying to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes an urgent referral. This is being achieved through the use of the standardised referral forma that requires a referrer to consider whether the case is urgent. The proforma includes a box that the referrer can tick when they believe the referral is urgent.