Mental Health Services on the NHS

The NHS has responded to the rise in mental health problems by offering services. This includes:

The Long Term Plan reaffirmed its commitment to increase investment in mental health services faster than overall NHS budget. This will include special suicide prevention services.

Get help

One of four people will suffer from mental illness at some time in their lives. The good news is that there are many different ways to get help and most of us recover over time. It’s important to understand the types of help available and who can provide it.

You can seek help from your doctor, your local health center or mental health service in your area. These teams comprise of occupational and nurse psychotherapists, as well as speech therapists. They collaborate with people who use their services. You can receive individual or group therapy, based on the type of assistance you require.

You will be asked to fill out a form from your doctor so that they can refer you to a mental health professional in the community. Iam Psychiatry will also ask what you require in terms of support. You will be assessed by members of the mental team which includes psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. In some cases a clinical nurse specialist will conduct your assessment and treatment. You can contact the NHS 111 helpline if you are in crisis. If you’re already being supported by mental health services it’s a good idea contact your regular team first, unless it’s outside of the normal hours, a weekend or a bank holiday.

The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to establish multidisciplinary, community-based mental health teams which are connected to primary care networks. These teams will improve the quality of the mental health services delivered to people experiencing a crisis, and will provide assistance to those in their homes and community rather than in hospitals.

The plan also aims at making crisis services accessible by decreasing wait times and allowing more beds. It would also include the mental transport vehicle and ensure that all ambulances are stocked with a mental liaison nurse in the control room to ensure that people experiencing a mental crisis are assisted in emergency situations.

Treatment options

The NHS offers a wide array of treatment options for mental health conditions. The less severe disorders are typically treated by GPs, while more severe conditions require specialists. These teams are spread across community and primary mental health services as well as psychiatric hospitals. There are also safe places where you can seek help if you are feeling in a crisis.

Talking therapies are among the most common types of treatment for depression and anxiety. Previously known as IAPT, these programs have seen the number of people who seek them increase each year since they were introduced 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 crucial element of treatment. They can improve symptoms by changing the way the brain’s chemicals function. They can be used to minimize the adverse effects of other treatments. Your doctor will suggest a medicine that is right for you.

A wide variety of talking therapy treatments are available which include group therapy as well as individual therapy. Some of them are offered in person, while others can be delivered online. Some patients prefer face to face treatment, but it is an individual choice. There are a variety of charities which offer support groups and courses, such as Mind. Their website contains a wealth of reliable information, but you must be aware that there is lots of misleading or false information on the internet about 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 from the clinical commissioning groups. They are usually located in a specific area, but can be commissioned to provide national services.

The lack of resources is a major problem. There are concerns about the quality and shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is working to improve the services by introducing new ways of work and providing more training. It also introduces safer and more effective ways to treat people in crisis including mobile crisis teams, as well as safe areas.

Helping you

Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago, there have been many positive developments for people suffering from mental health problems. The options for treatment have grown and social barriers have been smashed down. However, there is much to do.

People who are suffering from mental health issues require the ability to access the help they require quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is striving to improve the services available to those who require these services. By 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% will meet the core 24 standard by 2023/24. We will then work towards 100% coverage.

We will also enhance community services, including talk therapy, in order to provide support for hundreds of thousands of people with mental health issues regardless of whether they are common or severe. We will continue to work on the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program so that more people can be treated by trained therapists quicker.

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 run entirely by volunteers who provide an environment where you can talk to someone in a safe manner or provide advice and information about how to handle your mental health issues.

In addition to that, there are a lot of local organisations which can 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 also offer face-to-face support groups for those who prefer this option.

For students, there is the University’s Open Door Team which offers the opportunity to visit a counselling center for those who feel low or stressed. There’s also the Nightline student counselling service, which offers confidential listening and support from knowledgeable volunteers, or information about other services. Charities such as Mind and Rethink can provide an abundance of information and support, both on the internet and in local groups. They can provide a variety of classes and activities, from mindfulness to art classes that are beneficial for those with mental health issues.

Referrals

With mental health services under pressure, doctors are forced to make difficult choices about the services they will refer patients to. The GP will take a patient’s medical history into account and then recommend them to a service they think could be able to assist. They may send a referral to an NHS trust or an independent service.

A mental health specialist will then evaluate the referral and decide if it’s appropriate or not. If the specialist isn’t happy with the referral, they will call the GP and explain their reasons. They may request the GP to change the referral or ask for more details.

The referral to a local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) can be made through the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). The system permits GPs and other health professionals to refer people to either a pre-mental health clinical assessment service or directly to an appointment with an outpatient. Not all CMHTs offer both options and the system is not able to be used for all kinds of mental health referrals.

A GP may also refer patients to a community mental health specialist service (CMT). These are usually run either by an enormous hospital or a local health care organization. CMTs are a good choice for those who require to consult a psychologist or psychiatrist but do not require inpatient treatment. They also offer an early intervention program, where a psychiatrist collaborates with the counselor to help someone overcome a crisis or improve their quality of life.

CMTs are faced with the task of making sure that all referrals are made within a reasonable amount of time. One of the problems is that a large number of referrals are deemed urgent, despite the fact that they might not be. This can result in delays and over-working for people who are not in crisis.

To address this issue, some CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes a referral urgent. This is being achieved by using a standardised referral proforma that requires the referrer to decide if the situation is urgent. The form has a checkbox for the referrer to tick when they believe the referral is urgent.