Mental Health Services on the NHS
The NHS has responded to the rise in mental health issues by offering services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made the commitment to increase investment in mental health services more quickly than the NHS budget overall. This will include specialized work in suicide prevention.
Getting help
One of four of us will suffer from a mental health problem at some point in our lives. The good news is that there are plenty of different options to seek help and most of us recover with time. 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 a mental health team within your community. These teams comprise of occupational and nurse speech therapists, and psychotherapists. They work with the patients who require their services. You can get individual or group therapy depending on the kind of help you need.
You will be asked to complete a form with your doctor so that they can refer you to a mental health service in the community. They will also talk to you about the kind of help you require. You will be consulted by an individual from an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals which includes psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some instances the clinical nurse specialist will perform your assessment and treatment. You can contact the NHS 111 helpline when you're in an emergency. If you're already being assisted by mental health services it's a good idea to contact your regular team first, unless it's outside of core hours, the 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, with connections to primary care networks. These teams will enhance the quality of the care provided to those in crisis, and offer support to patients within their communities and at home instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aimed at help make crisis services more accessible by reducing waiting times and allowing more beds. It also proposed to introduce mental health transport vehicles and ensure that every ambulance has a mental health liaison nurse in their control rooms to ensure that people who are having a mental health crisis are helped in times of crisis.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a wide array of treatment options for mental health conditions. GPs are usually able to treat less severe disorders, but more serious illnesses will require an expert team. These teams work across community and primary mental health services, and also mental health hospitals. There are also safe places where you can get help for those who are in crisis.
Talking therapies are among the most commonly used forms of treatment for anxiety and depression. These programs, previously referred to as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy) have seen their referral numbers increase each year since they were launched in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these services to ensure that 1.9 million people will be able to access them by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medicines are another important aspect of treatment. They can improve symptoms through changing the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also be used to reduce the effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the right medication 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 the choice of the patient. Mind is one of many charities that offer support groups and courses. The website contains a wealth of information that is reliable, but be aware that there are a lot of false or misleading statements on the internet concerning mental health issues.
The NHS is improving mental health care but it struggles to meet the demand. In the UK there are 54 mental trusts. Most of them receive funding for their services from the clinical commissioning groups. I Am Psychiatry are typically located in a specific region however, they are also able to be commissioned to deliver national services.
The main issue is the insufficient resources to meet rising demand. There are also concerns over the quality of care and there is a shortage of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is working to improve the services by introducing new ways of working and offering more training. It also introduces safer and more effective ways to help people in crisis. These include mobile crisis teams, as well as safe space.
Supporting you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago there are positive changes for those suffering from mental health issues. The treatment options have increased and social barriers have been broken down. However, there is still much to be done.
People who are suffering from a mental crisis need to receive the help they require quickly and easily. The NHS is working to improve services so that people in need can get assistance. By 2020/21, we will make sure that all acute hospitals have a mental health liaison service both in A&E and on inpatient wards, and that 70% will meet the standard of 24 by 2023/24. We will then strive to achieve 100 percent coverage.
We will also expand services for people who require them in the community, such as psychotherapy, in order to provide thousands of more people suffering from severe or common mental health conditions the assistance they need. We will continue to develop the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program so that more people are treated by trained therapists faster.
The NHS provides free, confidential helplines for anyone who is struggling with 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 information and advice on how to deal with your mental health concerns.
Additionally, there are a number of local organizations that provide assistance and support for those with mental health issues. They can provide self-help guides, coping strategies, and activities to try. Many of these organisations provide support groups in person 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 provides confidential listening as well as information and support from experienced volunteers. Charities like Mind and Rethink can provide a wealth of information and support both online and in local groups. They can provide a variety of classes and activities, including mindfulness classes to art classes, which are useful for people with mental health issues.
Referrals
Mental health services are under strain and GPs have to make difficult choices regarding the best specialist services to refer their patients to. The GP will consider the medical history of the patient and refer them to services they believe will be able to assist. They may send a referral to an NHS trust or an independent provider.
A mental health specialist will then evaluate the referral and decide if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't pleased with the referral, they'll call the GP to discuss their decision and explain the reasons. They could request the GP to modify the referral or request more details.
The ability to refer patients to a local Community Mental Health Team can be made via the NHS e-Referral Service. The system allows doctors and other healthcare professionals to refer patients to either a preliminary clinical assessment for mental health or directly to an appointment. Not all CMHTs offer both options, and the system is not able to be used for all types of mental health referrals.
A doctor may refer a patient to a mental health specialist in the community service (CMT). They are typically run by an extensive hospital or a local healthcare organization. CMTs are a good choice for those who require to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist but do not require inpatient care. They also offer an early intervention program, where a psychiatrist collaborates with an psychotherapist to help a patient overcome a crisis or improve their quality of life.
One of the biggest challenges that a CMT is how to ensure that all suitable referrals are assigned within an appropriate time frame. Many referrals are deemed urgent, even though they might not be. This can lead people who aren't in a crisis to be overwhelmed and suffer delays.
To tackle this issue, some CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform standards for what constitutes an urgent referral. This was accomplished by using a standardised form that asks the referrer to indicate if the case is urgent. The form has a checkbox for the referrer to tick in the event that they believe that the referral is urgent.