Buzzwords De-Buzzed: 10 Alternative Ways To Deliver Mental Health Services NHS
Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been an enormous increase 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 increase investment in mental healthcare services faster than the overall NHS budget. This includes special suicide prevention services.
Get assistance
One out of four people will be affected by mental illness at one point during their lives. The good news is that there are plenty of different ways to get help and most of us recover with time. It is essential to know what assistance is available and who is able to provide it.
You can get help from your doctor or your local health center or mental health team within your local area. These teams consist of occupational therapists, nurses psychotherapists, psychotherapists, and speech and language therapists who work together with those who utilize the service. Based on the type of assistance you require, you may be offered individual or group therapy.
You will be asked to fill out a form by your GP so they can refer you to a mental health professional in the community. They will also ask you to specify what kind of support you need. You will then be examined by a member of the mental health team, which may include a psychiatrist, social worker or psychologist. In some cases, a clinical nurse specialist will carry out your assessment and treatment. If you are experiencing an emergency, you can contact the NHS 111 helpline for immediate support. If you're already being assisted by mental health services it's best to 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 detailed plans to establish multidisciplinary, community-based mental health teams which are connected to primary care networks. These will help to improve the quality of care that is provided to those suffering from a mental health crisis. They will also offer assistance in their homes and communities instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aimed at provide crisis services to more people by reducing waiting times and allowing more beds. mental assessment near me 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 an illness of mental health are helped in times of crisis.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a wide array of treatment options for mental health issues. Less severe disorders are often treated by GPs and more serious conditions require a specialist team. These teams operate in community and primary healthcare facilities and psychiatric hospitals. You can also seek help in a safe space when you are in a crisis.
Talking therapies for depression and anxiety are one of the main kinds of treatment. These programs, previously referred to as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy), have seen their number of referrals increase each year since they were introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these programs to ensure that 1.9 million people can access them in 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medications are also a vital element of treatment. They can improve symptoms by altering how the brain's chemicals function. They can also be used to lessen the negative effects of other treatments. Your doctor will suggest a medicine that is right for you.
A wide range of talking therapy options are available which include group therapy as well as individual therapy. Some of these treatments are offered in person, while other can be performed via remote access. Some patients prefer face-to-face treatment, but it is the choice of the patient. There are also a lot of charities that offer support groups and classes like Mind. Their website contains a wealth of information that is reliable, however you must be aware that there is lots of misleading or false information on the internet about mental health issues.
While the NHS is improving its mental health services, it still struggles to cope with demand. There are 54 mental health trusts across the UK and the majority of them receive funding from clinical commissioning organizations to deliver their services. They are typically located in a particular region however, they are also able to be commissioned to provide national services.
The shortage of resources is a major problem. There are concerns over the quality of care and the shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is striving to improve its services by introducing new ways of working and offering more training. It also introduces more secure and efficient methods to treat people in crisis, such as mobile crisis teams and safe spaces.
We are here to help you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago, there have been positive developments for people suffering from mental health issues. The options for treatment have grown and social barriers have been broken down. But there is still more to be done.
Patients who are experiencing a mental health crisis require the ability to get the assistance they require quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is striving to improve the services available to those who require them. In 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% of these will be in compliance with the core 24 standard by 2023/24. We will then strive to achieve 100 percent coverage.
We will also increase community services, including talking therapy, to offer support for hundreds of thousands of people with mental health problems, whether they are severe or common. We will continue to develop the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program to ensure that more people can be visited by therapists who are qualified, quicker.
The NHS offers free, confidential helplines for anyone struggling with mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines available. These helplines are run entirely by volunteers who offer a safe place to talk or offer advice and guidance about how to handle your mental health concerns.
There are also a number local organizations that provide assistance and support to those who suffer from mental health issues. These can include self-help guides, strategies for coping and activities to try. Many of these organizations also offer face-to-face support groups for those who prefer this method.
For students, there's the University's Open Door Team which offers the opportunity to visit a counselling center for those who are feeling down or stressed. Nightline is a student counseling service that offers private listening assistance, information and support from experienced volunteers. Charities like Mind and Rethink can provide many sources of information and support, both on the internet and in local groups. They can provide a variety of courses and activities from mindfulness to art classes that can be beneficial for those suffering from mental health issues.
Making a referral
Mental health services are under pressure and GPs have to make difficult decisions about which specialist services they should refer their patients to. The GP will take a patient's medical history into consideration and then refer them to a service they believe can assist. They can refer a patient to an NHS trust, or to an independent provider.
A mental health specialist will assess the referral to determine if it is appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't satisfied with the referral, they'll contact the GP to discuss their decision and explain the reasons. They can also ask the GP to provide more information or to change the referral.
The referral to a local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) may be made via the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). The system allows doctors and other healthcare professionals send patients to either a preliminary assessment service for mental health or directly to an appointment. However there are some exceptions. CMHTs provide both options, and the system cannot be used for every type of mental health referral.
A GP may also refer a patient to a community mental health specialist service (CMT). They are usually managed by an enormous hospital or a local healthcare organization. CMTs are a great option for those who want to see an experienced psychologist or psychiatrist, but do not require inpatient treatment. They can also provide an early intervention program where psychiatrists work with a therapy therapist to help someone overcome a crisis or improve the quality of their lives.
One of the challenges faced by a CMT is how to ensure that all appropriate referrals are allocated within an appropriate time frame. One of the challenges is that a large number of referrals are deemed urgent, despite the fact that they might not be. This can lead to over-working and delays for people who are not in crisis.
To address this issue, a few CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes an urgent referral. This was achieved through a standardised form that asks the referrer if they believe the situation is urgent. The form has a checkbox that the referrer can tick when they believe that the referral is urgent.