14 Common Misconceptions Concerning Mental Health Services NHS

Mental Health Services on the NHS

The NHS has responded to the rising number of mental health issues 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 the work of a specialist in suicide prevention.

Get assistance

One in four of us will suffer from mental health issues at some moment in our lives. The good news is that there are a variety of different ways to seek assistance and the majority of us recover over time. It is crucial to know the types of help available and who can provide it.

You can get help from your GP or your local health center or a mental health team in your community. These teams are comprised of nurses, occupational therapists psychotherapists, psychotherapists, and speech and language therapists who work together with people who use the service. Based on the type of help you need you might be provided with individual or group therapy.

Your GP will typically ask you to fill in an application form to send you a referral to a local mental health team. They will also ask what kind of support you need. You will be seen by members of an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals which includes psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some instances the assessment and treatment will be carried out by a clinical nurse specialist. You can call the NHS 111 helpline for assistance if you're in an emergency. If you are already receiving support for your mental health It is recommended to contact your regular team first, unless it's out of hours, on a weekend, or a bank holiday.

The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to create multidisciplinary, community-based mental health teams that are linked to primary care networks. These will help to improve the quality of the care delivered to people who are suffering from a mental health crisis. They will also offer support within their communities and homes instead of in hospitals.

The plan also aims to make emergency services available by cutting down waiting times and opening more beds. It also proposes an ambulance for mental health and ensure that all ambulances are stocked with a mental liaison nurse in the control room to ensure that patients who are suffering from mental illness are helped in times of crisis.

Treatment options

The NHS offers a variety of treatment options for mental health issues. Less severe disorders are often treated by GPs however more severe conditions require an expert team. These teams operate across both 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 crisis.

Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are among the main treatments. Formerly known as IAPT These programs have seen referral numbers increase each year since their launch in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has set the goal of expanding these services to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.

Psychiatric medicines are also an important element of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by changing the way the brain's chemicals function. They can also help alleviate the side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the right medicine for you.

There are a variety of talk therapies, such as individual therapy and group therapy. Some of these therapies can be delivered in person, while others can be performed via remote access. Some patients prefer treatment in person, but that is a personal preference. There are also a number of charities that provide classes and support groups like Mind. The website contains a wealth of information that is reliable but you should be aware of the fact that there are many false or misleading claims on the internet about mental health issues.

While the NHS is advancing its mental health services but it's still struggling to cope with demand. There are 54 mental health trusts across the UK, and most of them receive funding from clinical commissioning groups to deliver their service. They are usually located in a specific region however they can also be contracted to provide national services.

The main issue is the lack of resources to meet the growing demand. There are also concerns over the quality of care and there is a shortage of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is working to improve the services by introducing new ways of work and delivering more training. It also provides more efficient and safer ways to help people who are in crisis. This includes mobile crisis teams, as well as safe spaces.

Helping you

Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago there have been a lot of positive developments for people suffering from mental health problems. Treatment options have gotten more diverse and social barriers are being broken down. However, there is much to do.

People experiencing mental health issues must be able to get the help they need quickly and easily. The NHS is working to improve services so that people in need are able to access help. We will ensure that no acute hospital does not have a mental health liaison in A&E departments and wards for patients by 2020/21, and that 70 percent of these services will meet the "core 24" standard by 2023/24. Then we will work towards achieving 100% coverage afterward.

We will also increase services for people who need them in the community, including psychotherapy, in order to provide hundreds of thousands more patients with severe or common mental health conditions the support they need. We will continue to work on our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT) to ensure that more people suffering from mental health issues can be seen quicker by therapists who are qualified.

The NHS offers free, confidential helplines to anyone suffering from a mental health issue. They include the Samaritans, Mind and Rethink. These helplines are run by volunteers who offer the opportunity to talk in a secure environment or give advice and information about how to handle your mental health issues.

There are also a number local organizations that can offer assistance and support to those with mental health issues.  Iam Psychiatry -help guides, coping methods and other activities are available. Many of these organisations offer support groups that meet face-to-face to those who prefer it.

For students, there is the University's Open Door Team which offers a drop-in counselling service for those feeling depressed or stressed. Nightline is a student counselling service that provides confidential listening assistance, information and support from knowledgeable volunteers. Charities such as Mind and Rethink can provide an abundance of information and assistance, both online and in local groups. They can also offer various classes and activities, from mindfulness to art groups that could be beneficial for people who suffer from mental health problems.

Making a referral

With mental health services under pressure, GPs have to make difficult decisions regarding what specialist services they should refer patients to. The doctor will take a 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 whether it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't happy with the referral they will contact the GP to discuss their decision and explain why. They could also ask the GP to alter the referral or request more information.

The ability to refer patients to the local Community Mental Health Team can be made through the NHS e-Referral Service. The system allows GPs and other health professionals to refer people to either a mental health clinical assessment or directly to an appointment with an outpatient. However, not all CMHTs offer both options and the system isn't able to be used for every type of mental health referral.

A GP may also refer a patient to a community mental health specialist service (CMT). These are usually run by a major local healthcare organisation or a hospital. CMTs are a great option for those who require to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist but don't require inpatient treatment. They also offer an early intervention service, where a psychiatrist collaborates with a psychotherapist to help a patient overcome a crisis or improve their life quality.

CMTs face the challenge of making sure that all referrals are made within a reasonable time frame. One of the challenges is that a lot of referrals are deemed as urgent, even though they may not be. This can cause patients who aren't experiencing a crisis to be overworked and experience delays.

To tackle this issue, a few CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes a referral urgent. This was achieved through a standardised form which asks the referrer if they believe the situation is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer can tick to indicate if the request is urgent.