Mental Health Services on the NHS

There has been an enormous rise in people seeking help for mental health issues and the NHS has responded by offering 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 assistance

One out of four people will suffer from a mental illness at some time in their lives. The good news is that there are many avenues to seek assistance, and the majority of us will improve with time. It's important to understand what help is available and who can provide it.

You can seek assistance from a variety of sources like your GP (primary medical doctor for primary care), your local health centre, or a community mental health team. These teams consist of nurses, occupational therapists psychotherapists, psychotherapists and mental health Diagnosis Assessment speech and language therapists who collaborate with the people who utilize the service. You can get individual or group therapy depending on the kind of help you need.

Your GP will typically ask you to fill in an application form to make a referral to a local mental health team. They will also ask you to specify what kind of support you need. You will be consulted by members of a mental team, such as psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some cases, a clinical nurse specialist will carry out your assessment and treatment. You can call the NHS 111 helpline for assistance if you're in crisis. If you're already 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 set out plans to establish more place-based, multidisciplinary community mental health teams, with connections to primary care networks. These teams will enhance the quality of the mental health services delivered to people experiencing a crisis, and will provide assistance to those in their own homes and communities rather than in hospitals.

The plan also aimed to make crisis services more accessible by reducing wait times and allowing more beds. It would also introduce mental health transport vehicles, and ensure that every ambulance has a mental health liaison nurse in their control rooms to improve the way that those suffering from mental health issues are assisted in emergencies.

Treatment options

The NHS provides a wide range of treatment options for mental health conditions. Disorders that are less severe are usually treated by GPs and more severe conditions require specialists. These teams are spread across both community and primary mental health services, as well as psychiatric hospitals. There are also safe spaces where you can seek help when you're in a state of crisis.

Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are among the most popular kinds of treatment. Previously referred to as IAPT, these programs have seen the number of people who seek them increase every year since their launch in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these services to ensure that 1.9 million people will be able to use them by 2023/2024.

Psychiatric drugs are a different aspect of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by altering the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also be used to reduce the side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will suggest the right medication for you.

There are a variety of talk therapies, such as individual therapy and group therapy. Some of them are offered in person, while others are available via a remote device. Some patients prefer treatment in person, but that is a personal preference. There are also a lot of charities which offer classes and support groups like Mind. Their website contains a wealth of information that is reliable, however you should be aware that there's a lot of false or misleading information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.

While the NHS is improving its mental health care however, it is still struggling to meet the demands. There are 54 mental health trusts across the UK and the majority of they receive funding from clinical commissioning groups to provide their service. They are typically located in a particular region however, they are also able to be commissioned to deliver national services.

The shortage of resources is a major problem. There are also concerns over the quality of care and a shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is trying to improve the quality of care by introducing new methods of work and providing more training. It also offers safer and more effective methods to treat people who are in crisis. This includes mobile crisis teams, as well as safe spaces.

Helping you

Since the NHS was established 70 years ago, there have been many positive developments for those suffering from mental health problems. Treatment options have gotten more diverse and social barriers are breaking down. However, there is still much to be done.

People who are in mental illness need to get the help they need quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is striving to improve the quality of services for those who require them. By 2020/21 we will ensure that all acute hospitals offer a mental health liaison service, both in A&E and on wards for inpatients and that 70% of these will meet the core 24 standard by 2023/24. We will then work towards 100% coverage.

We will also expand community services, including talking therapy, in order to provide assistance to hundreds of thousands of people suffering from 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) programme so that more people can be visited by therapists who are qualified, quicker.

The NHS offers confidential, free helplines to anyone struggling with mental health diagnosis assessment (dnpaint.co.Kr) health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines available. These helplines are run by trained volunteers. They provide a safe space to talk or provide information and advice on how to tackle your mental health concerns.

There are also local organisations that can provide support and guidance to people suffering from mental health issues. Self-help guides, coping methods and activities can be included. Many of these organizations also offer face-to-face support groups for those who prefer this option.

For students, there's the University's Open Door Team which offers the opportunity to visit a counselling center for those who feel low or stressed. Nightline is a student counselling service that provides confidential listening, support and information from experienced volunteers. Charities like Mind and Rethink can provide an abundance of information and support both online mental health assessment and in local groups. They can also offer various classes and activities, ranging from mindfulness to art groups that could be beneficial for those living with mental health problems.

Referrals

Mental health services are under pressure and GPs must make difficult decisions about which specialist services they should refer their patients to. The GP will consider the patient's medical background and refer them to services they believe will be able assist. They can refer a patient either to an NHS trust, or an independent provider.

A mental health specialist will examine the referral to determine if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist doesn't like the referral, they'll contact the GP and explain their reasons. They can also request the GP for more details or to modify the referral.

Referrals to the local Community Mental Health Team can be made using the NHS e-Referral Service. The system allows GPs and other healthcare professionals to refer patients to either a preliminary mental health assessment or directly to an outpatient appointment. Not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system is not able to be used for all types of mental health referrals.

A GP may decide to refer a person to a specialized community mental health service (CMT). They are usually managed by an extensive hospital or a local healthcare organization. CMTs are a great option for those who require to see a psychiatrist or psychologist but don't require inpatient treatment. They can also offer an early intervention service where a psychiatrist works with a therapist in order to assist a person overcome any crisis or improve the quality of their lives.

CMTs face the challenge of making sure that all referrals are made within a reasonable time frame. One of the problems is that many referrals are considered urgent, even though they may not be. This can result in delays and over-working for people who aren't in need.

To tackle this issue, a few CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes an urgent referral. This is being achieved by using a standardised referral proforma that requires the referrer to consider whether the case is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer has to check if the referral is urgent.