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There has been a massive increase in people seeking help for mental health issues, and the NHS has responded by providing services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made the commitment to increase investment in mental health services more quickly than the NHS budget in general. This includes specialist work in suicide prevention.
Getting help
One out of four people will be affected by mental illness at one time in their lives. The good news is that there are plenty of different options to seek help and most of us recover after a while. However, it is important to know what assistance is available and who is able to provide it.
You can seek help from a variety of sources, including your GP (primary care medical doctor), your local health centre, or a community mental health team. These teams are comprised of occupational and nurse speech therapists, and psychotherapists. They collaborate with patients who require their services. Based on the type of help you require you might be provided with individual or group therapy.
Your GP will typically request you to fill out an application form to make a referral to a community mental health team. They will also talk with you about the kind of help you require. You will be consulted by members of a mental team which includes psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. In some instances your evaluation and treatment will be carried out by a specialist in clinical nursing. You can contact the NHS 111 helpline when you're in crisis. If you are already receiving support for your mental health it is recommended to call your usual team first, unless it is out of office hours, on a weekend or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health outlined plans to create more place-based, multidisciplinary community mental health teams that have links to primary care networks. They will improve the quality of the care provided to those experiencing an illness of mental health and offer assistance within their communities and homes instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aimed to provide crisis services to more people by reducing wait times and opening more beds. It would also introduce an ambulance for mental health and ensure that all ambulances are stocked with a mental liaison nurse within the control room to make sure that people experiencing a mental crisis are assisted in emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a range of treatment options to treat mental health problems. The less severe disorders are typically treated by GPs and more serious conditions require an expert team. These teams work across both community and primary mental health services as well as mental health hospitals. mental health assessments for adults can also seek assistance in a secure environment when you are in a crisis.
Talking therapies are among the most commonly used forms of treatment for anxiety and depression. 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 commits to expanding these services so that 1.9 million people will be able to access them in 2023/2024.
Psychiatric drugs are a different aspect of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by altering how the brain's chemicals function. They can also be used to ease side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will recommend the best medication for you.
There are many kinds of talk therapy, including individual therapy and group therapy. Some of these can be delivered in person, but others can be done via a remote device. Some patients prefer treatment in person, but this is a personal preference. There are also a number of charities that offer support groups and classes, such as Mind. The site contains a wealth of reliable information but you should be aware of the fact that there are many false or misleading claims on the internet about mental health issues.
The NHS is working to improve mental health care but it's struggling to meet the demand. There are 54 mental health trusts across the UK and the majority of them receive funding from clinical commissioning groups to deliver their service. They typically are located in a specific area however, they are also able to be contracted to provide national services.
The lack of resources is a major problem. There are concerns about the quality and availability of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is trying to improve the quality of care by introducing new methods of work and providing more training. It also introduces more efficient and safer methods to assist people in need, 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. Treatment options have increased and social barriers are being broken down. But there's still a lot to do.
People who are suffering from mental health issues need to be able to access the help they need quickly and easily. That's why the NHS is striving to improve the services available to those who need these services. We will ensure that no acute hospital is without the mental health liaison service in A&E departments and inpatient wards by 2020/21. We will also ensure that 70 percent of these services will be in line with the "core 24" standard by 2023/24. We will work towards achieving 100% coverage afterward.
We will also increase services for people who require them in the community, which includes talking therapies, to give hundreds of thousands of people with common or severe mental health conditions the support they need. We will continue to develop our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program (IAPT), so that more people suffering from mental health conditions can be seen quicker by qualified therapists.
The NHS offers confidential, no-cost assistance to anyone suffering from mental health issues. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines available. These helplines are operated by trained volunteers. They provide a safe space to talk, or offer guidance and information on how to tackle your mental health concerns.
There are also local organizations that provide assistance and support to those suffering from mental health issues. These can include self-help guides, coping strategies and activities to try. Many of these organizations offer support groups that meet face-to-face for those who prefer it.
For students, there's the University's Open Door Team which offers a drop-in counselling service for those who feel depressed or stressed. There is also the Nightline student counselling service, which offers confidential listening and support from skilled volunteers, or information about other services. Charities such as Mind and Rethink are a great source of information and can provide support in various forms, including online and through local groups. They also offer a variety of classes and activities, ranging from mindfulness to art classes which can be helpful for those living with mental health problems.
Referrals
Mental health services are under pressure and GPs are forced to make difficult decisions about which specialist services to refer their patients to. The doctor will take a patient's medical history into consideration and then refer them to a service they think will be able to help. They can send a referral either to an NHS trust, or to an independent provider.
A mental health specialist will then assess the referral and decide whether it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't pleased with the referral, they'll contact the GP to discuss their decision and provide the reason. They can also request the GP for more information or to change the referral.
The ability to refer patients to the local Community Mental Health Team can be made using the NHS e-Referral Service. The system allows GPs and other health professionals to refer people to either a pre-mental health assessment or directly to an appointment with an outpatient. However, not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system can't be used for every type of mental health referral.
A GP can also refer patients to a community mental health specialist service (CMT). These are usually run either by an extensive hospital or a local healthcare organisation. CMTs can be a good option for people who wish to consult a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist, but don't require inpatient care. They can also offer an early intervention service in which a psychiatrist works with a psychotherapist to assist a person overcome a crisis or improve the quality of their life.
One of the biggest challenges that a CMT is ensuring that all appropriate referrals are allocated within an appropriate time frame. One of the issues is that a large number of referrals are considered urgent, despite the fact that they might not be. This can result in over-working and delays for people who aren't in need.
To address this issue, some CMHTs are trying to establish more consistent standards for what is an urgent referral. This was accomplished by using a standardised form that asks the referrer if the case is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer has to check to indicate if the request is urgent.