Is Tech Making Mental Health Services NHS Better Or Worse?
Mental Health Services on the NHS
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 reaffirmed its commitment to invest more in mental healthcare services faster than the overall NHS budget. This includes the work of a specialist in suicide prevention.
Get help
One of four people will suffer from mental illness at some point during their lives. The good news is that there are a variety of ways to seek help, and many of us will be able to recover with time. However, it is important to know what help is available and who is able to provide it.
You can seek help from your GP or the local health center, or a mental health team in your local area. These teams consist of nurses, occupational and psychotherapists, as well as speech therapists. They work with clients who seek their services. You can receive individual or group therapy depending on the kind of help you need.
Your GP will typically ask you to fill in an application form to refer you to a community mental health team. They will also talk with you about the kind of assistance you require. You will be seen by members of a mental team, such as psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. In private mental health care near me and treatment will be conducted by a clinical nurse specialist. You can contact the NHS 111 helpline if you are in a crisis. If you already receive support for your mental health It is recommended to contact your primary team first, unless out of hours, on a weekend or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health outlined plans to create more multidisciplinary, community-based, place-based mental health teams with links to primary care networks. These teams will increase the quality of mental health care provided to those in crisis, and will provide assistance to those within their communities and at home instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aimed to provide crisis services to more people by reducing waiting times and allowing more beds. It would also introduce mental health transport vehicles and ensure that every ambulance has an official who is a mental health liaison in their control rooms to ensure people suffering from an illness of mental health are helped in times of crisis.
Treatment options
The NHS offers a range of treatment options for mental health conditions. The less severe disorders are typically treated by GPs and more severe conditions require a specialist team. These teams are located in both community and primary healthcare facilities as well as psychiatric hospitals. There are also safe spaces where you can get help when you're in a state of crisis.
Talking therapies for depression and anxiety are among the most popular types of treatment. These programs, formerly known as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy), have seen their numbers of clients increase each year since they first introduced in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these programs so that 1.9 million people can access them in 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medicines are also an important part of treatment. They can improve symptoms by changing the way the brain's chemicals work. They can also be used to minimize the adverse effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the right medicine for you.
A variety of talk therapy options are offered including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these can be delivered in person, while others can be delivered online. Some patients prefer to receive treatment in person, but this is a personal decision. There are a variety of charities which offer support groups and classes like Mind. Their website has a lot of trustworthy information, but you must be aware that there is lots of false or misleading information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.
The NHS is improving the quality of mental health care, but it is struggling to meet the demand. There are 54 mental health trusts across the UK, and most of they receive funding from clinical commissioning groups to deliver their services. They typically are located in a specific region however they can also be contracted to provide national services.
The lack of resources is a major issue. There are also concerns about the quality of care and a shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is working to improve the services by introducing new ways of working and offering more training. It also offers safer and more effective methods of treating those who are in crisis. These include mobile crisis teams and safe spaces.
Supporting you
Since the NHS was first introduced 70 years ago, there have been positive developments for people suffering from mental health issues. The treatment options have gotten better and social barriers have been broken down. However, there is much to do.
People who are suffering from mental health problems need to be able to get the help they need quickly and easily. The NHS is working to improve its services to ensure that those who need them receive assistance. We will ensure that every acute hospital does not have a mental health liaison service in A&E departments and wards for inpatients by 2020/21. 70% of these services will meet the "core 24" standard by 2023/24, working towards 100% coverage thereafter.
We will also increase community services, including talking therapy, to provide assistance to hundreds of thousands of people with mental health problems, whether they are common or severe. We will continue to develop our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program (IAPT) in order to ensure that more people with mental health conditions can be seen quicker by qualified therapists.
The NHS provides free, confidential helplines for anyone struggling with a mental health issue. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines available. These helplines are operated by trained volunteers. They provide the opportunity to talk with someone in a secure environment or give information and advice on how to manage your mental health issues.
There are also local organizations that can offer support and guidance to people with mental health issues. They can provide self-help guides, coping strategies and activities to try. Many of these organizations offer face-toface support groups to those who would prefer it.
For students, there is the University's Open Door Team which offers the opportunity to visit a counselling center for those who feel low or stressed. There is also the Nightline student counselling service which offers confidential listening and support from skilled volunteers, or information on other services. Charities like Mind and Rethink are a excellent source of information and provide support in various forms such as online and through local groups. They also provide many courses and activities, from mindfulness to art classes, which may be useful for people suffering from mental health problems.
Making a referral
Mental health services are under strain and GPs are forced to make difficult choices regarding the best specialist services to refer their patients to. The GP will look at the medical history of the patient and recommend them to services they believe will be able aid. They can send a referral either to an NHS trust, or to an independent provider.
A mental health professional will then review the referral and decide if it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't pleased with the referral, they'll call the GP to discuss their decision and provide the reason. They might also ask the GP to change the referral or request more information.
Requests for a local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) may be made via the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). The system allows doctors and other healthcare professionals refer patients to either a preliminary clinical assessment for mental health or directly to an appointment. 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 operated by a large local healthcare organization or hospital. CMTs are a great option for those who have to consult a psychologist or psychiatrist, but do not require inpatient treatment. They can also offer an early intervention program where a psychiatrist works with a therapy therapist to assist a person overcome an issue or improve the quality of their lives.
One of the challenges that CMTs CMT is ensuring that all appropriate referrals are assigned within the proper time frame. Many referrals are deemed urgent even though they may not be. This can lead to delays and over-working for those who aren't in need.
To tackle this issue, some CMHTs are trying to establish more uniform guidelines for what is an urgent referral. This has been accomplished through the use of an established referral form that requires a referrer to determine if the case is urgent. The form has a checkbox that the referrer is able to tick when the referral is urgent.