Why You Should Concentrate On Improving Mental Health Services NHS
Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been an enormous increase in people seeking treatment 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 healthcare services faster than overall NHS budget. This includes specialist work in suicide prevention.
Get assistance
One in four of us will experience mental health issues at some point in our lives. The good news is there are many ways to get assistance, and the majority of us will improve with time. But it's important to know what assistance is available and who is able to provide it.
You can seek assistance from a variety of sources such as your doctor (primary medical doctor for primary care) as well as your local health centre, or a community mental health team. These teams are comprised of occupational therapists, nurses psychotherapists, psychotherapists and speech and language therapists who work with the people who utilize the service. Based on the kind of help you require, you may be offered individual or group therapy.
Your doctor will typically ask you to fill in an application form to make a referral to a community mental health team. They will also ask you what type of assistance you require. You will be assessed by a member of the mental team which includes a psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. In some instances, your assessment and treatment will be carried out by a clinical nurse specialist. You can call the NHS 111 helpline if you are in crisis. If you're already supported by mental health services, it's best to contact your regular 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 included plans to establish more multidisciplinary, place-based community mental health teams, with connections to primary care networks. These plans will aid in improving the quality of the care given to those experiencing a mental health crisis. They will also provide support within their communities and homes, rather than in hospital.
The plan also aimed to help make crisis services more accessible by reducing waiting times and allowing more beds. It also proposed to introduce mental health transport vehicles and make sure that every ambulance has a mental health liaison nurse in their control rooms to improve the way people suffering from an illness of mental health are assisted in emergencies.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a wide range of treatment options for people suffering from mental health problems. Disorders that are less severe are usually treated by GPs, while more serious disorders require a specialist team. These teams are located in primary and community healthcare facilities, as well psychiatric hospital. You can also seek help in a safe space if you feel in crisis.
Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are among the main treatments. These programs, formerly known as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy) have seen their numbers of clients increase every year since they were introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to expanding these services to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medicines are also a crucial component of treatment. They can alleviate symptoms by changing the way chemicals work in your brain. They can be used to minimize the adverse effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the right medication for you.
A wide variety of talking therapy options are available which include group therapy as well as individual therapy. Some of them are offered in person, but others can be delivered via a remote device. Some patients prefer to receive treatment in person, but that is a personal preference. Mind is one of many organizations that offer support groups and classes. The site is full of information that is reliable but you should be aware that there are numerous false or misleading statements on the internet regarding mental health issues.
While best private mental health hospitals uk is improving its mental health care however, it is still struggling to cope with demand. There are 54 mental health trusts in the UK and the majority of they receive funding from clinical commissioning groups to provide their service. They typically are located in a specific region however, they can also be contracted to provide national services.
The main issue is the insufficient resources to meet rising demand. There are also concerns over the quality of care, and the shortage of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is striving to improve its services by introducing new ways of work and delivering more training. It also introduces more efficient and safer methods to help people in crisis like mobile crisis teams and safe spaces.
Supporting you
Since the NHS launched 70 years ago, there have been many positive developments for those suffering from mental health problems. Treatment options have increased and social barriers are being taken down. But there is more to be done.
People who are experiencing mental illness need to get the help they need quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is working hard to improve the quality of services for those who need them. 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% of them will meet the standard of 24 by 2023/24. Then we will strive to achieve 100% coverage.
We will also enhance services for the community, such as talking therapy, to provide support for hundreds of thousands of people suffering from mental health issues regardless of whether they are severe or common. We will continue to work on our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program (IAPT), so that more people suffering from mental health conditions can be seen more quickly by trained therapists.
The NHS offers confidential, free helplines to those suffering from mental health issues. They include the Samaritans, Mind and Rethink. These helplines are run by volunteers who offer an environment where you can talk to someone in a safe manner or offer advice and guidance about how to handle your mental health concerns.
There are a variety of local organizations that can offer help and advice to those with mental health issues. Self-help guides, coping techniques and other activities are available. Many of these organizations provide support groups in person for those who prefer it.
For students, there is the University's Open Door Team which offers a drop-in counselling service for those who are feeling depressed or stressed. There's also the Nightline student counselling service that offers confidential listening and support from experienced volunteers, or information about other services. Charities such as Mind and Rethink are a excellent source of information and can offer support in many forms such as online and through local groups. They offer a variety of activities and courses ranging from mindfulness to art classes, which can be beneficial for those suffering from mental health issues.
Referrals
With mental health services under pressure, doctors are forced to make difficult decisions regarding the services they will refer patients to. The doctor will take the patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a service they believe will be able to help. They can refer a patient either to an NHS trust or an independent provider.
A mental health specialist will then evaluate the referral and decide if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't happy with the referral, they'll contact the GP and explain the reasons. They might request the GP to alter the referral or request more details.
Referrals to a local Community Mental Health Team can be made using the NHS e-Referral Service. The system lets doctors and other healthcare professionals refer patients to either a preliminary assessment service for mental health or directly to an appointment. Not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system can't be used for all types of mental health referrals.
A GP may also refer patients to a mental health specialist in the community service (CMT). They are typically run by a large hospital or local health care organization. CMTs are an excellent option for those who have to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist but don't require inpatient care. They can also provide an early intervention program where a psychiatrist works with a therapy therapist to assist a person overcome a crisis or improve the quality of their lives.
CMTs face the challenge of making sure that all referrals are received within a reasonable time frame. One of the issues is that a large number of referrals are considered urgent, even though they may not be. This can lead people who aren't experiencing a crisis to be overworked and experience delays.
To address this issue, some CMHTs have attempted to establish more uniform standards for what constitutes an urgent referral. This has been achieved by using the standardised referral forma that requires a referrer determine if the case is urgent. The proforma includes a box for the referrer to tick when they believe that the referral is urgent.