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 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 overall. This will include specialist suicide prevention work.
Get help
One in four people will suffer from mental illness at one time in their lives. The good news is that there are plenty of different options to seek assistance and the majority 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 a variety of places such as your doctor (primary medical doctor for primary care) as well as your local health center or a community mental health team. These teams are comprised of nurses, occupational therapists psychotherapists, psychotherapists, and speech and language therapists who work together 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 GP so they can refer you to a mental health service in the community. They will also speak to you about the kind of help you require. You will be consulted by an individual from the mental team, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. In some instances, your assessment and treatment will be conducted by a specialist in clinical nursing. If you are experiencing an emergency, you can contact the NHS 111 helpline for urgent support. If you're already being assisted by mental health services, it's a good idea to try and contact your usual team first unless it's out of the normal hours, a weekend or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to create multidisciplinary mental health teams in the community which are connected to primary care networks. They will improve the quality of the care delivered to people who are suffering from a mental health crisis and offer support within their communities and homes rather than in hospitals.
The plan also aims to make emergency services available by decreasing waiting times and opening more beds. It would also introduce mental health transport vehicles, and ensure that every ambulance has an official who is a mental health liaison in their control rooms to improve the way that people who are having a mental health crisis are supported in emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a variety of treatment options for people suffering from mental health problems. GPs are usually able to treat less severe illnesses, however more serious illnesses will require the assistance of a specialist team. These teams work in primary and community healthcare facilities, as well psychiatric hospital. You can also seek assistance in a secure environment if you feel in crisis.
Talking therapies are one of the most common types of treatment for depression and anxiety. Previously referred to as IAPT the programs have seen the number of people who seek them increase each year since their introduction in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to expanding these programs to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medicines are another important part of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by changing the way chemicals in your brain work. They can also be used to alleviate the side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will suggest a medicine that is right for you.
A variety of talk therapy options are available including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of them are offered in person, whereas others are available online. Some patients prefer treatment in person, but this is a personal preference. Mind is one of the charities that offer support groups and courses. Their website contains a wealth of information that is reliable, however you should be aware of the fact that there's a lot of inaccurate or misleading information on the internet about mental health issues.
While the NHS is working to improve its mental health care, it still struggles to meet the demands. In the UK, there are 54 mental trusts. Most of them receive funding for their services from clinical commissioning group. They typically are located in a particular region, but they can be commissioned to offer national services.
One of the main issues is the insufficient resources to meet the growing demand. There are also concerns about the quality of care, and there is a shortage of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is trying to improve the quality of care by delivering more training and introducing new ways of working. It also introduces safer and more effective methods of treating those who are in crisis. These include mobile crisis teams and secure spaces.
We are here to help you
Since the NHS was established 70 years ago, there have been positive developments for those with mental health issues. The treatment options have gotten better and social barriers have been broken down. But there's still a lot to be done.
People who are experiencing mental illness need to get the help they need quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is striving to improve services for people who require these services. We will ensure that every acute hospital does not have a mental health liaison in A&E departments and wards for inpatients by 2020/21. We will also ensure that 70% of these services will meet the "core 24" standard by 2023/24, working towards 100% coverage thereafter.
We will also expand services for people who need them in the community, which includes talking therapies, to give thousands of more people suffering from severe or common mental health issues the help they need. We will continue to develop the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme so that more people can be seen by qualified therapists, more quickly.
The NHS provides confidential, free assistance to anyone suffering from mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines that are available. These helplines are run by trained volunteers and provide the opportunity to talk with someone in a secure environment, or offer guidance and information on how to tackle your mental health concerns.
There are a variety of local organizations that can offer help and advice to those with mental health issues. They can provide self-help guides, coping strategies, and activities to try. Many of these organizations offer support groups that meet face-to-face for those who prefer it.
The University's Open Door Team offers a drop-in counseling service for students feeling down or stressed. Nightline is a student counselling service that offers confidential listening as well as information and support from experienced volunteers. Charities like Mind and Rethink are a great source of information. They can provide support in a variety of ways, including online and through local groups. They can also offer many classes and activities, from mindfulness to art groups, which may be useful for those living with mental health issues.
Making Iam Psychiatry
With mental health services under pressure, GPs have to make difficult choices about what specialist services they should refer patients to. The GP will take a patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a specialist they think could be able to assist. They can send a referral to an NHS trust, or to an independent provider.
A mental health specialist will review the referral to determine if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't satisfied with the referral, they'll call the GP and explain their reasons. They might also ask the GP to alter the referral or request more details.
The ability to refer patients to a local Community Mental Health Team can be made using the NHS e-Referral Service. The system allows doctors and other healthcare professionals to send patients to either an initial clinical assessment service for mental health or directly to an appointment. However not all CMHTs offer both options and the system isn't able to be used for every type of mental health referral.
A GP might decide to refer a person to a specialist community mental health service (CMT). They are typically run by a major local healthcare organization or a hospital. CMTs are a great option for those who require to see a psychiatrist or psychologist, but do not require inpatient treatment. They can also provide an early intervention service where psychiatrists work with a psychotherapist to help someone overcome a crisis or improve the quality of their lives.
One of the major challenges that CMTs CMT is ensuring that all suitable referrals are made within the proper time frame. Many referrals are considered urgent even though they may not be. This can lead to delays and over-working for those who aren't in need.
To tackle this issue, certain CMHTs are working to establish more uniform standards for what is considered an urgent referral. This was achieved by using an established form that asks the referrer if the case is urgent. The form has a checkbox that the referrer has to check when the request is urgent.