Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been a huge increase in people seeking treatment for mental health issues, and the NHS has responded by offering services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made the commitment to increase the amount of money spent on mental health services quicker than the NHS budget in general. This will include specialist work in suicide prevention.
Getting help
One of four people will be affected by mental illness at some point during their lives. The good news is that there are a variety of ways to seek help, and many of us will recover with time. However, it is important to know what help is available and who can provide it.
You can seek help from your doctor or your local health center, or a mental health service in your community. These teams consist of nurses, occupational and speech therapists, and psychotherapists. mental health assessment cost collaborate with patients who require their services. Depending on the type of help you require you might be provided with individual or group therapy.
Your GP will typically request you to fill out the form to refer you to a local mental health team. They will also talk with you about what kind of assistance you require. You will be consulted by an individual from the mental team like 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 when you're in an emergency. If you're already supported by mental health services, it's best to call 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. These teams will increase the quality of the mental health services provided to those in crisis, and provide support to them in their own homes and communities instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aims to make crisis services accessible by decreasing waiting times and opening more beds. It also proposes the introduction of mental health transport vehicles and make sure that all ambulances have an official who is a mental health liaison in their control rooms to improve the way people suffering from mental health issues are assisted in emergencies.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a range of treatment options for mental health issues. Disorders that are less severe are usually treated by GPs and more severe conditions require an expert team. These teams operate in primary and community mental healthcare services, as well psychiatric hospital. There are also safe places where you can seek assistance when you're in crisis.
Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are among the most popular types of treatment. Previously referred to as IAPT the programs have seen the number of people who seek them increase every year since their launch in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to expanding these services to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medications are another crucial part of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by changing the way chemicals work in your brain. They can be used to lessen the negative effects of other treatments. Your doctor will suggest a medicine that is right for you.
There are many kinds of talk therapies, such as individual therapy and group therapy. Some of these therapies can be offered in person, while other can be performed online. Some patients prefer to receive treatment in person, but that is a personal decision. There are a variety of charities that offer support groups and classes like Mind. Their website is full of information that is reliable, however you should be aware that there is plenty of inaccurate or misleading information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.
While the NHS is improving its mental health services however, it is still struggling to meet the demands. In the UK, there are 54 mental trusts. Most of them receive funding for their services from the clinical commissioning groups. They are usually located in a specific region however, they are also able to be contracted to provide national services.
A key issue is the lack of resources to meet the demands of the rising population. There are also concerns over the quality of care and there is a shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is working to improve the quality of care by delivering more training and developing new ways of working. It also introduces more secure and efficient methods to treat people in crisis. This includes mobile crisis teams and secure spaces.
Helping you
Since the NHS was established 70 years ago there have been positive changes for people suffering from mental health issues. The treatment options have increased and social barriers have been taken down. But there is more to be done.
People who are suffering from a mental crisis need to receive the assistance they require quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is putting in the effort to improve the quality of services for those who require these services. We will ensure that no acute hospital does not have a mental health liaison service in A&E departments and inpatient wards by 2020/21. We will also ensure that 70 percent of these services will be in line with the "core 24" standard by 2023/24, working towards a 100% coverage rate after that.
We will also extend services for people who require them in the community, such as psychotherapy, in order to provide hundreds of thousands of people with common or severe mental health conditions the assistance they need. We will continue to develop the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program to ensure that more people can be treated by trained therapists quicker.
The NHS provides confidential, free helplines to anyone struggling with mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines available. These helplines are run by volunteers who provide a safe place to talk or provide advice and information about how to handle your mental health issues.
Additionally, there are a number 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 organizations also offer face-to-face support groups for those who prefer this option.
The University's Open Door Team offers a drop-in counseling service for students who are experiencing stress or depression. There is also the Nightline student counselling service that offers confidential listening and support from knowledgeable volunteers, as well as information on other services. Charities such as Mind and Rethink can provide a wealth of information and support, both online and in local groups. They offer a variety of courses and activities from mindfulness to art classes that can be beneficial for those suffering from mental health issues.
Referrals
Mental health services are under strain and GPs must make difficult choices about which specialist services to refer their patients to. The doctor will take a patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a service they think will be able to help. They can send a referral either to an NHS trust, or an independent provider.
A mental health professional will then assess the referral and decide whether it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't pleased with the referral, they'll contact the GP to discuss their decision and explain the reason. They can also request the GP for more information or to modify the referral.
Referrals 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 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 GP can refer a patient to a mental health specialist in the community service (CMT). These are usually run by a major local health organization or hospital. CMTs are an excellent option for those who require to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist but do not require inpatient treatment. They also provide an early intervention service where a psychiatrist works with a therapy therapist to assist someone in overcoming a crisis or improve the quality of their lives.
One of the challenges that CMTs CMT is how to ensure that all appropriate referrals are allocated within the appropriate timeframe. One of the issues is that many referrals are deemed urgent, even though they may not be. This can lead people who aren't experiencing a crisis to be rushed and suffer delays.
To address this issue some CMHTs are trying to establish more consistent standards for what is an urgent referral. This is being achieved through the use of the standardised referral forma that requires a referrer consider whether 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.