Mental Health Services on the NHS

There has been a huge rise in people seeking help for mental health issues, and the NHS has responded by providing services. This includes:

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

Helping yourself

One of four of us will have mental health issues at some time in our lives. The good news is that there are a variety of different options to seek help, and most people recover with time. It's important to understand the types of help available and who can provide it.

You can get help from your GP, your local health center or mental health team in your local area. These teams comprise of nurses, occupational and psychotherapists and speech therapists. They work with the people who use their services. You can get individual or group therapy, based on the type of help you need.

Your GP will usually require you to fill out the form to refer you to a community mental health team. They will also speak to you about the kind of assistance you require. Then, you will be viewed by someone from a mental health team, which may include a psychiatrist, social worker or psychologist. In certain instances a clinical nurse specialist will conduct your assessment and treatment. If you're in an emergency, you can call the NHS 111 helpline for urgent support. If you're already being assisted by mental health services, it's a good idea call your usual team first, unless it's outside of core hours, the weekend or on a bank holiday.

The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health outlined plans to create more multidisciplinary, place-based community mental health teams that have links to primary care networks. These plans will aid in improving the quality of the care provided to those suffering from a mental health crisis and offer support in their homes and communities rather than in hospitals.

The plan also aims to make crisis services more accessible by decreasing wait times and opening up more beds. It also proposes the mental transport vehicle and ensure that all ambulances are equipped with an individual who is a mental liaison nurse in the control room to ensure that those who are experiencing mental distress are helped in times of crisis.

Treatment options

The NHS offers a variety of treatment options for mental health conditions. GPs typically have the ability to treat milder disorders, but more serious issues will require the assistance of a specialist team. These teams work across both community and primary mental health services, and mental health diagnostic assessment health hospitals. You can also seek assistance in a secure environment should you be in a state of crisis.

Talking therapies for depression and anxiety are among the most popular kinds of treatment. These programs, previously known as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy), have seen their referral numbers increase each year since they were first introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these services so that 1.9 million people will be able to use them in 2023/2024.

Psychiatric drugs are a different part of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by altering the way that chemicals function in your brain. They can also help ease side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the right medication for you.

There are many kinds of talk therapy, including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these can be delivered in person, while others can be delivered via a remote device. Some patients prefer face-to face treatment, but it is a matter of choice. There are also a number of charities that offer support groups and classes like Mind. Their website has a lot of reliable information, but you must be aware that there is lots of inaccurate or misleading information on the internet about mental health issues.

The NHS is improving the mental health system, but it struggles to meet the demand. There are 54 mental health trusts across the UK, and most of are funded by clinical commissioning groups to deliver their service. They are usually located in a particular region, but can be commissioned to provide national services.

The main issue is the lack of resources to meet rising demand. There are also concerns over the quality of care, and the shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is working to improve the quality of care by delivering more training and introducing new methods of working. It is also introducing more secure and efficient methods to treat people in crisis like mobile crisis teams, as well as safe places.

Helping you

Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago there have been numerous positive developments for those suffering from mental health problems. Treatment options have gotten more diverse and social barriers are being broken down. But there is more to be done.

People who are experiencing mental illness need to get the help they need quickly and easily. The NHS is striving to improve the quality of services so that people in need are able to access them. In 2020/21, we will ensure that all acute hospitals offer a mental health liaison service that is available in A&E and on inpatient wards, and that 70% of them will be in compliance with the core 24 standard by 2023/24. Then we will work towards 100 percent coverage.

We will also extend services for people who require them in the community, such as psychotherapy, in order to provide hundreds of thousands more people with common or severe mental health conditions the assistance they require. We will continue to develop the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program to ensure that more people are treated by trained therapists faster.

The NHS provides free, confidential helplines to anyone struggling with a mental health issue. These include the Samaritans and Mind and Rethink. These helplines are operated by trained volunteers and provide the opportunity to talk with someone in a secure environment, or offer guidance and information on how to get a mental health assessment to manage your mental illness assessment health issues.

There are a variety of local organisations that can provide support and guidance to people with mental health issues. These can include self-help guides, strategies for coping and activities to try. Many of these organisations also provide support groups in person for those who prefer this method.

For students, there is the University's Open Door Team which offers the opportunity to visit a counselling center for those feeling depressed or stressed. There is also the Nightline student counselling service, which provides confidential listening and support from knowledgeable volunteers, as well as information on other services. Charities such as Mind and Rethink can provide many sources of information and support both online and in local groups. They also provide various courses and activities, from mindfulness to art classes that could be beneficial for people suffering from mental health issues.

Referring someone to you

Mental health services are under strain and GPs must make difficult choices regarding the best 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 believe can assist. They may send a referral to an NHS trust or an independent service.

A mental health specialist will then assess the referral and decide if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't pleased with the referral they will contact the GP to discuss their decision and provide the reasons. They could request the GP to modify the referral or request additional details.

Referrals to the local Community Mental Health Team can be made via the NHS e-Referral Service. The system allows doctors and other healthcare professionals direct patients to a preliminary assessment for mental health or directly to an appointment. However, not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system can't be used for every type of mental health referral.

A doctor may also refer patients to a mental health specialist in the community service (CMT). These are usually run by a major local healthcare organisation or a hospital. CMTs are a great alternative for those looking to see an experienced psychologist or psychiatrist but do not require inpatient treatment. They can also provide an early intervention program where psychiatrists collaborate with psychotherapist to help someone overcome a crisis or improve the quality of their life.

CMTs are faced with the task of making sure that all referrals are received within a reasonable time. One of the problems is that a large number of referrals are deemed urgent, even though they may not be. This can lead people who aren't experiencing a crisis to be overworked and experience delays.

To combat this problem, some CMHTs have attempted to establish more uniform guidelines for what is a mental health assessment constitutes a referral urgent. This has been achieved by using a standardised referral proforma that requires a referrer to determine if the case is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer is able to tick if the request is urgent.