Responsible For A Mental Health Services NHS Budget? 12 Ways To Spend Your Money
Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been a massive rise in people seeking help for mental health issues, and the NHS has responded by providing services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan reaffirmed its commitment to increase investment in mental health services more quickly than the overall NHS budget. This includes specialist suicide prevention work.
Get help
One out of four of us will experience mental health issues at some time in our lives. The good news is there are a variety of ways to seek assistance, and the majority of us will recover over time. It is essential to know what help is available and who is able to provide it.
You can seek help from a variety of places such as your GP (primary medical doctor for primary care) or your local health center or a community mental health team. These teams comprise of nurses, occupational and psychotherapists and speech therapists. They collaborate with people who use their services. Depending on the type of help you require, you may be offered individual or group therapy.
You will be asked to complete a form with your doctor so that they can refer you to a mental health team in the community. They will also ask you what you require in terms of support. You will be assessed by members of the mental team, such as psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some instances your evaluation and treatment will be carried out by a clinical nurse specialist. You can call the NHS 111 helpline for assistance if you're in a 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 outside of core hours, the weekend or on a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health detailed plans to create multidisciplinary, community-based mental health teams that are connected to primary care networks. These teams will increase the quality of the care that is provided to those who are in a crisis, and offer support to them within their communities and at home instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aims to make crisis services accessible by cutting down wait times and allowing more beds. It would also introduce the mental transport vehicle and ensure that all ambulances are outfitted with an individual who is a mental liaison nurse in the control room to make sure that people experiencing a mental crisis are supported during emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a variety of treatment options to treat mental health problems. GPs typically have the ability to treat minor conditions, but more severe issues will require a specialist team. These teams are located in primary and community health services for mental health, as well psychiatric hospital. You can also seek assistance in a secure environment if you feel in crisis.
Talking therapies are among the most popular forms of treatment for depression and anxiety. These programs, previously referred to as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy) have seen their numbers of clients increase each year since they introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to expanding these programs to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
The use of psychiatric medication is also a vital component of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by altering the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also be used to minimize the adverse effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the best medicine for you.
A wide variety of talking therapy options are available including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these therapies are delivered in person, while others can be performed remotely. Some patients prefer treatment in person, but this is a personal choice. Mind is one of the charities that provide support groups and classes. Their website is full of reliable information, but you must be aware that there is lots of inaccurate or misleading information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.
The NHS is working to improve the quality of mental health care, but it is struggling to meet the demands. There are 54 mental health trusts across the UK, and most of they receive funding from clinical commissioning groups to deliver their service. They are typically located in a particular region, but can be commissioned to deliver national services.
A key issue is the lack of resources to meet the demands of the rising population. There are concerns about the quality of care and the shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is trying to improve the quality of care by introducing new ways of work and delivering more training. It also introduces more efficient and safer ways to help people who are in crisis. These include mobile crisis teams and safe spaces.
Helping you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago, there have been positive developments for those suffering from mental health issues. The options for treatment have grown and social barriers have been smashed down. But there is still more to do.
Patients who are experiencing mental health issues need to be able 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 these services. We will ensure that no acute hospital does not have a mental health liaison in A&E departments and inpatient wards by 2020/21. We will also ensure that 70% of these services will meet the "core 24" standard by 2023/24, working towards 100% coverage thereafter.
We will also expand community services, including talking therapy, to offer assistance to hundreds of thousands of people with mental health issues, whether they are severe or common. We will continue to work on the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme so that more people are treated by trained therapists quicker.
The NHS provides free, confidential helplines to anyone suffering from a mental health issue. These include the Samaritans and Mind and Rethink. These helplines are operated entirely by volunteers who offer an environment where you can talk to someone in a safe manner or offer advice and guidance on how to deal your mental health issues.
In addition there are a variety of local organizations that can provide assistance and support for people with mental health problems. Self-help guides, coping strategies and activities can be included. Many of these organisations provide support groups in person to those who prefer it.
The University's Open Door Team offers a drop-in counseling service for students who are experiencing stress or depression. There is also the Nightline student counselling service, which provides confidential listening and support from knowledgeable volunteers, or information about other services. Charities like Mind and Rethink can provide an abundance of information and support, both online and in local groups. They can provide a variety of classes and activities, from mindfulness to art classes, which are useful for people with mental health issues.
Referrals
With mental health services under pressure, GPs have to make difficult decisions about what specialist services they should refer patients to. The doctor will take into consideration the patient's medical background and recommend them to services they believe will be able assist. They can refer a patient 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 satisfied with the referral, they'll contact the GP to discuss their decision and provide the reasons. They can also request the GP to provide more information or to modify the referral.
Referrals to the local Community Mental Health Team can be made through the NHS e-Referral Service. The system lets doctors and other healthcare professionals send patients to either a preliminary clinical 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 kinds of mental health referrals.
A doctor may decide to refer a patient to a specialized community mental health service (CMT). They are usually managed by a large hospital or local healthcare organization. CMTs are a great option for those who need to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist but do not require inpatient treatment. They also offer an early intervention service where a psychiatrist works with the therapist to help a person overcome a problem or improve their quality of life.
CMTs have the responsibility of making sure that all referrals are received within a reasonable amount of time. One of the challenges is that many referrals are deemed urgent, even though they may not be. This can cause patients who aren't in a crisis to be overwhelmed and suffer delays.
To tackle iampsychiatry , some CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes an urgent referral. This was achieved by using a standardised form which asks the referrer if the situation is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer has to check to indicate if the referral is urgent.