Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been a massive rise in people seeking help for mental health issues and the NHS has responded by providing services. click to investigate includes:
The Long Term Plan has made a renewed commitment to grow investment in mental health services more quickly than the NHS budget in general. This will include specialist work in suicide prevention.
Get help
One out of four people will suffer from a mental illness at some point during their lives. The good news is that there are many avenues to seek assistance, and the majority of us will improve over time. However, it is important to know what help is available and who is able to provide it.
You can seek help from your doctor, your local health center or mental health service in your local area. These teams consist of occupational therapists, nurses psychotherapists, psychotherapists and speech and language therapists who work with those who utilize the service. Based on the kind of help you need, you may be offered individual or group therapy.
Your GP will usually require you to fill out a form to send you a referral to a community mental health team. They will also talk with you about the kind of assistance you require. You will be seen by a member of an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals, such as psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some instances, your assessment and treatment will be carried out by a clinical nurse specialist. You can call the NHS 111 helpline for assistance if you're in crisis. If you're already being supported by mental health services, it's a good idea 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 detailed plans to create multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals in the community that are connected to primary care networks. These will help to improve the quality of care delivered to people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. They will also offer support in their homes and communities instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aimed to provide crisis services to more people by reducing wait times and allowing more beds. It also proposed to introduce mental health transport vehicles, and ensure that every ambulance has an official who is a mental health liaison in their control rooms to ensure people suffering from a mental health crisis are assisted in emergencies.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a variety of treatment options for mental health conditions. GPs are usually able to treat minor illnesses, however more serious conditions will require an expert team. These teams operate in both community and primary mental healthcare services, as well psychiatric hospital. There are also safe spaces where you can get help for those who are in a crisis.
Talking therapies for depression and anxiety are one of the main kinds of treatment. Previously referred to 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 commits to expanding these programs so that 1.9 million people can access them by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medications are another crucial component of treatment. They can improve symptoms by altering the way the brain's chemicals work. They can be used to minimize the adverse effects of other treatments. Your doctor will recommend the right medication for you.
A wide range of talking therapy treatments are available which include group therapy as well as individual therapy. Some of these therapies are delivered in-person, while others are available via remote access. Some patients prefer to receive treatment in person, but that is a personal choice. Mind is one of the charities that offer support groups and courses. Their website is full of trustworthy information, but you must be aware that there's a lot of inaccurate or misleading information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.
While the NHS is working to improve its mental health care however, it is still struggling to cope with demand. There are 54 mental health trusts across the UK, and most of they receive funding from clinical commissioning groups to provide their services. They are typically located in a specific region, but can be commissioned to deliver national services.
The shortage of resources is a major issue. There are concerns about the quality and availability of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is striving to improve its services by introducing new ways of work and providing more training. It is also introducing safer and more effective ways to help people in crisis like mobile crisis teams, as well as safe places.
Helping you
Since the NHS was established 70 years ago there have been positive changes for those suffering from mental health issues. The treatment options have increased and social barriers have been smashed down. But there is more to be done.
People who are experiencing a mental crisis need to receive the help they require quickly and easily. The NHS is striving to improve the quality of services so that people in need are able to access them. By 2020/21 we will ensure that all acute hospitals have a mental health liaison service, both in A&E and on inpatient wards, and that 70% of these will be in compliance with the core 24 standard by 2023/24. We will then work towards 100% coverage.
We will also increase services for those who require them in the community, which includes psychotherapy, in order to provide hundreds of thousands 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) program to ensure that more people are visited by therapists who are qualified, more quickly.
The NHS provides free, confidential helplines for anyone who is struggling with a mental health issue. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines available. These helplines are run by trained volunteers. They provide an environment where you can talk in a safe manner or provide guidance and information on how to deal with your mental health concerns.
There are also local organizations that provide help and advice to those suffering from mental health issues. These include self-help guides, coping strategies, and activities to try. Many of these organizations offer face-toface support groups to 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. Nightline is a student counseling service that provides confidential listening as well as information and support from knowledgeable volunteers. Charities such as 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 provide a variety of classes and activities, including mindfulness classes to art classes, which are beneficial for those with mental health issues.
Referrals
With mental health services under pressure, GPs have to make difficult decisions regarding what specialist services they should refer patients to. Read This method will take a patient's medical history into account and then recommend them to a service they believe could be able to assist. They may send a referral either to an NHS trust or an independent provider.
A mental health professional will then assess the referral and decide if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't satisfied with the referral, they will contact the GP and explain their reasons. They could request the GP to change the referral or request additional details.
Requests for 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 send patients to either a preliminary clinical assessment service for mental health or directly to an appointment. Not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system can't be used for all kinds of mental health referrals.
A GP may also refer a patient to a mental health specialist in the community service (CMT). These are usually run by a large local healthcare organisation or a hospital. CMTs are a great option for those who have to see a psychiatrist or psychologist, but do not require inpatient treatment. They can also provide an early intervention program, where a psychiatrist works with an therapist to help a person overcome a crisis or improve their quality of life.
CMTs are faced with the task of ensuring that all referrals are received within a reasonable time. One of the challenges is that a lot of referrals are considered urgent, despite the fact that they may not be. This can cause people who aren't experiencing a crisis to be overwhelmed and suffer delays.
To combat this problem, a few CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes a referral urgent. This was achieved by using a standardised form that asks the referrer if they believe the situation is urgent. The proforma includes a box for the referrer to tick when they believe the referral is urgent.