20 Things You Must Know About Mental Health Services NHS Mental Health Services on the NHS

The NHS has responded to the rising number of mental health problems by offering services. This includes:

The Long Term Plan has made a renewed commitment to grow the investment in mental health services quicker than the NHS budget overall. This includes specialist work in suicide prevention.

Getting 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 plenty of different ways to seek help, and most people recover over time. It is essential to know what assistance is available and who can provide it.

You can seek help from a variety places, including your GP (primary medical doctor for primary care) as well as your local health center or a community mental health team. These teams are comprised of occupational and nurse speech therapists, and psychotherapists. They work with people who use their services. Based on the kind of help you need you might be provided with individual or group therapy.

Your GP will usually request you to fill out an application form to send you a referral to a community mental health team. They will also ask you what type of assistance you require. You will be seen by a member of a mental team which includes psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In certain instances a clinical nurse specialist will conduct your assessment and treatment. private mental health care can contact the NHS 111 helpline if you are in a crisis. If you're already being supported 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 create multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals in the community that are connected to primary care networks. These teams will increase the quality of the care delivered to people experiencing a crisis, and will provide assistance to those in their homes and community rather than in hospitals.

private mental health assessment aimed at help make crisis services more accessible by reducing wait times and opening more beds. It also proposed to 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 a mental health crisis are helped in times of crisis.

Treatment options

The NHS offers a range of treatment options to treat mental health conditions. The less severe disorders are typically treated by GPs and more severe conditions require a specialist team. These teams operate across community and primary mental health services and mental health hospitals. There are also safe places where you can seek help when you're in a state of crisis.

Talking therapies are among the most commonly used forms of treatment for depression and anxiety. Previously known as IAPT These programs have seen the number of people who seek them increase every year since they were introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these programs to ensure that 1.9 million people will be able to access them in 2023/2024.

Psychiatric medicines are another important component of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by altering the way chemicals work in your brain. They can be used to minimize the adverse effects of other treatments. Your doctor will recommend a medicine that is right 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 offered in person, while other are available online. Some patients prefer face-to-face treatment, but it is an individual choice. Mind is one of many charities that offer support groups and courses. Their website has a lot of information that is reliable, however you must be aware that there is a lot of misleading or false information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.

The NHS is improving the quality of mental health care, but it struggles to meet the demands. In the UK, there are 54 mental trusts. Most of them receive funding for their services from clinical commissioning group. They are typically located in a specific area however, they are also able to be commissioned to provide national services.

The shortage of resources is a major issue. 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 work and delivering more training. It is also introducing safer and more effective ways to treat people in crisis including mobile crisis teams and safe places.

We are here to help you

Since the NHS launched 70 years ago, there have been many positive developments for people suffering from mental health issues. The treatment options have increased and social barriers have been smashed down. However, there is still much to be done.

People who are experiencing mental health issues should receive the assistance they require quickly and easily. The NHS is working to improve services so that people in need can get help. By 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% will meet the standard of 24 by 2023/24. We will then strive for 100 percent coverage.

We will also expand community services, including talk therapy, to offer support for hundreds of thousands of individuals suffering from mental health conditions, whether they are common or severe. We will continue to work on our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT), so that more people suffering from mental health issues can be seen quicker by qualified therapists.

The NHS provides free, confidential helplines for anyone who is struggling with mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines that are available. These helplines are operated entirely by volunteers who provide the opportunity to talk in a secure environment or offer advice and guidance on how to manage your mental health concerns.

There are also local organizations that can offer assistance and support to those with mental health issues. They can provide self-help guides, coping strategies, and activities to try. Many of these organisations also provide support groups in person for those who would prefer this type of support.


For students, there's the University's Open Door Team which offers an opportunity to consult with a counsellor at any time for those feeling low or stressed. Nightline is a student counselling service that offers private listening assistance, information and support from knowledgeable volunteers. Charities such as Mind and Rethink are a excellent source of information and provide support in a variety of ways that include online and through local groups. They can provide a variety of activities and courses ranging including mindfulness classes to art classes that are beneficial for those with mental health issues.

Referrals

With mental health services under pressure, GPs have to make difficult decisions about which specialist services they can refer patients to. The doctor will take a patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a service they think can assist. They can send a referral to an NHS trust, or an independent provider.

A mental health specialist will review the referral to determine if the referral is appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't pleased with the referral they will call the GP to discuss their decision and explain the reason. They can also request the GP for more details or to change the referral.

The ability to refer patients to the local Community Mental Health Team can be made through the NHS e-Referral Service. The system permits GPs and other healthcare professionals to refer patients to either a pre-mental health clinical assessment or directly to an appointment with an outpatient. However there are some exceptions. CMHTs provide both options, and the system can't be used for every kind of mental health referral.

A doctor may also refer a patient to a mental health specialist in the community service (CMT). They are typically operated by a large local healthcare organisation or a hospital. CMTs are a good choice for those who have to consult a psychologist or psychiatrist but do not require inpatient treatment. They also offer an early intervention service, where a psychiatrist collaborates with a therapist to help a person overcome a crisis or increase their life quality.

CMTs have the responsibility of ensuring that all referrals are made within a reasonable time. Many referrals are considered urgent, even if they may not be. This can result in delays and over-working for people who are not in crisis.

To combat this problem, some CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes a referral urgent. This was achieved through an established form that asks the referrer to indicate if the case is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer can tick if the request is urgent.