Mental Health Services on the NHS

The NHS has responded to the rising number of mental health issues by providing services. This includes:

The Long Term Plan reaffirmed its commitment to invest more in mental health services faster than overall NHS budget. This includes specialist work in suicide prevention.

Get help

One out of four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. The good news is there are many ways to get help, and most of us will recover over time. It is important to know what help is available and who can provide it.

You can seek assistance from a variety of places such as your doctor (primary medical doctor who treats patients) or your local health centre, or a community mental health team. These teams consist of occupational and nurse speech therapists, and psychotherapists. They work with the people who use their services. Based on the kind of help you require, you may be offered individual or group therapy.

Your doctor will typically request you to fill out the form to make a referral to a local mental health team. They will also ask you to specify what you require in terms of support. You will then be seen by someone from a mental health team, which may include a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In certain instances the clinical nurse specialist will perform your assessment and treatment. If you’re experiencing an emergency, you can contact 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 on a bank holiday.

The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to establish multidisciplinary mental health teams in the community that are connected to primary care networks. These will help to improve the quality of care that is given to those experiencing a mental health crisis and provide support within their communities and homes 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 introduce an ambulance for mental health and ensure that all ambulances are stocked with a mental liaison nurse within the control room to ensure that people experiencing a mental crisis are supported during emergency situations.

Treatment options

The NHS offers a variety of treatment options for mental health conditions. Less severe disorders are often treated by GPs and more severe conditions require an expert team. These teams are spread across primary and community mental health services and psychiatric hospitals. You can also seek help in a secure environment should you be in a state of crisis.

Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are among the main types of treatment. These programs, previously known as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy) have seen their number of referrals increase each year since they launched in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to expanding these services to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.

Psychiatric drugs are a different part of treatment. They can improve symptoms through changing the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also be used to lessen the negative effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the best medication for you.

A wide variety of talking therapy treatments are available including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these treatments are offered in person, while other are available online. Some patients prefer face-to-face treatment, but it’s an individual choice. There are a variety of charities that provide support groups and classes, such as Mind. The website contains a wealth of reliable information, but be aware that there are numerous false or misleading claims on the internet regarding mental health issues.

While the NHS is improving its mental health care, it still struggles to cope with demand. There are 54 mental health trusts in the UK, and most of they receive funding from clinical commissioning organizations to deliver their services. They typically are located in a specific region, but can be commissioned to deliver national services.

The shortage of resources is a major problem. There are concerns over the quality and availability of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is trying to improve the quality of care by introducing new ways of work and providing more training. It is also introducing more secure and efficient methods to assist people in need like mobile crisis teams, as well as safe areas.

Helping you

Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago there have been numerous positive developments for people suffering from mental health issues. The treatment options have increased and social barriers have been broken down. But there is still more to do.

People who are suffering from mental illness need to get the help they need quickly and easily. That’s why the NHS is striving to improve services for people who need these services. We will ensure that every acute hospital does not have a mental health liaison service in A&E departments and wards for inpatients by 2020/21, and that 70 percent of these services will be in line with the ‘core 24’ standard by 2023/24. We will work towards 100% coverage thereafter.

We will also increase community services, including talking therapy, to offer support for hundreds of thousands of individuals suffering from mental health problems, whether they are common or severe. We will continue to work on our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program (IAPT), so that more people with mental health problems are seen faster by therapists who are qualified.

The NHS provides free, confidential helplines to anyone who is struggling with mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines that are available. These helplines are operated entirely by volunteers who provide an environment where you can talk to someone in a safe manner or give advice and information about how to handle your mental health concerns.

Additionally, there are a number of local organizations that can provide assistance and support for those with mental health issues. Self-help guides, coping methods and other activities are available. Many of these organisations 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 private listening assistance, information and support from experienced volunteers. Charities such as Mind and Rethink are a great source of information and provide support in a variety of ways, including online and through local groups. They also provide a variety of courses and activities, from mindfulness to art classes that could be beneficial for those living with mental health issues.

Referrals

With mental health services under pressure, GPs are having to make difficult decisions about which specialist services they can refer patients to. The GP will consider the patient’s medical background and refer them to services they believe can help. They may refer a patient to an NHS trust or an independent provider.

A mental health professional will examine the referral to determine if the referral is appropriate or not. If the specialist doesn’t like the referral, they will contact the GP and explain the reasons. They may also ask the GP to provide more information or to modify the referral.

The referral to a local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) may be made via the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). The system allows doctors and other healthcare professionals to refer patients to either a preliminary assessment for mental health or directly to an appointment. However there are some exceptions. how do you get a mental health assessment offer both options and the system cannot be used for every kind of mental health referral.

A GP can also refer patients to a mental health specialist in the community service (CMT). They are usually managed by an extensive hospital or a local healthcare organisation. CMTs are a great option for those who have to see a psychiatrist or psychologist but don’t require inpatient care. They can also provide an early intervention program where a psychiatrist works with a psychotherapist to assist a person overcome any crisis or improve the quality of their life.

CMTs have the responsibility of making sure that all referrals are made within a reasonable time frame. One of the problems is that a lot of referrals are deemed urgent, despite the fact that they might not be. This can result in delays and over-working for those who aren’t in need.

To address this issue some CMHTs are trying to establish more consistent guidelines for what is considered an urgent referral. This has been achieved through the use of the standardised referral forma that requires a referrer to consider whether the case is urgent. The form has a checkbox for the referrer to check when they believe that the referral is urgent.