What Will Mental Health Services NHS Be Like In 100 Years?
Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been an enormous increase in people seeking help for mental health issues and the NHS has responded by offering services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan reaffirmed its commitment to increase investment in mental health services faster than overall NHS budget. This includes specialist suicide prevention work.
Getting help
One out of four of us will have mental health issues at some point in our lives. The good news is that there are many different ways to get assistance and the majority of us recover with time. However, it is important to know what assistance is available and who is able to provide it.
You can get help from your GP or your local health center, or a mental health service in your area. These teams consist of occupational and nurse speech therapists, and psychotherapists. They work with people who use their services. Based on the kind of help you need you could receive individual or group therapy.
Your doctor will typically ask you to fill in a form so that they can send you a referral to a community mental health team. They will also ask what you require in terms of support. You will then be seen by someone from a mental health team that could include a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. In some cases, a clinical nurse specialist will carry out your assessment and treatment. You can call the NHS 111 helpline if you are in an emergency. If you are already receiving mental health support it is recommended to call your usual team first, unless outside of hours, or on a weekend or bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health included plans to establish more multidisciplinary, place-based community mental health teams with links to primary care networks. These teams will improve the quality of the mental health services provided to those in crisis, and offer support to them within their communities and at home rather than in hospitals.
The plan also aimed to make crisis services more accessible by reducing waiting times and opening more beds. It would also introduce mental health transport vehicles, and ensure that every ambulance has a mental health liaison nurse in their control rooms to ensure that those suffering from a mental health crisis are supported in emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a variety of treatment options for mental health issues. GPs are usually able to treat milder illnesses, however more serious conditions will require a specialist team. These teams work across primary and community mental health services, and also mental health hospitals. There are also safe spaces where you can get help for those who are in a crisis.
Talking therapies for depression and anxiety are among the main types of treatment. These programs, previously referred to as IAPT (Interactive Assessment and Psychotherapy), have seen their numbers of clients increase every year since they were first 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 by 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medications are another crucial aspect of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by altering the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also help reduce the effects of other treatments. Your doctor will recommend a medicine that is right for you.
A variety of talk therapy treatments are available, including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these can be delivered in person, but others are available online. Some patients prefer face to face treatment, but it's a matter of choice. There are also a number of charities that offer classes and support groups like Mind. The website contains a wealth of reliable information however, be aware that there are numerous false or misleading statements that are posted on the internet about mental health issues.
While the NHS is improving its mental health services however, it is still struggling to cope with demand. There are 54 mental health trusts in the UK, and most of are funded by clinical commissioning organizations to deliver their service. They typically are located in a specific area however, they can also be contracted to provide national services.
The main issue is the lack of resources to meet rising demand. There are concerns about the quality and availability of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is working to improve these services by delivering more training and developing new ways of working. It also introduces more efficient and safer ways to help people in crisis. These include mobile crisis teams, as well as safe space.
Supporting you
Since the NHS was first introduced 70 years ago, there are positive changes for those with mental health issues. The treatment options have increased and social barriers have been broken down. But there is still more to do.
People who are suffering from mental health issues should receive the assistance they require quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is working hard to improve services for people who need these services. We will ensure that no acute hospital is without a mental health liaison in A&E departments and wards for inpatients by 2020/21. 70 percent of these services will meet the "core 24" standard by 2023/24, working towards achieving 100% coverage afterward.
We will also expand community services, including talking therapy, to provide support for hundreds of thousands of people suffering from mental health problems regardless of whether they are serious or common. We will continue to develop our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT), so that more people suffering from mental health conditions can be seen more quickly by therapists who are qualified.
The NHS provides free, confidential helplines for anyone suffering from mental health issues. These include the Samaritans, Mind and Rethink. These helplines are operated by trained volunteers. They provide the opportunity to talk with someone in a secure environment, or offer advice and information on how to deal with your mental health concerns.
There are also a number local organizations that can offer support and guidance to people 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 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 are feeling down or stressed. Nightline is a student counselling service that offers confidential listening as well as information and support from experienced volunteers. Charities like Mind and Rethink can provide an abundance of information and support both online and in local groups. They can offer a range of activities and courses ranging from mindfulness to art classes, which are beneficial for those with mental health issues.
best private mental health hospitals uk are under pressure and GPs are forced to make difficult decisions about which specialist services to refer their patients to. The doctor will take the patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a service they believe could be able to assist. They may refer a patient to an NHS trust or an independent provider.
A mental health specialist will then review 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 explain the reasons. They can also ask the GP to provide more information or to alter 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 doctors and other healthcare professionals to send patients to either a preliminary clinical assessment service for mental health or directly to an appointment. However, not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system can't be used for every type of mental health referral.
A GP may refer a patient 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 see an experienced psychologist or psychiatrist, but don't require inpatient care. They can also offer an early intervention service where psychiatrists collaborate with therapy therapist to assist a person overcome any crisis or improve the quality of their life.
One of the biggest challenges that CMTs CMT is ensuring that all appropriate referrals are made within the appropriate timeframe. Many referrals are deemed urgent even though they may not be. This can result in over-working and delays for people who are not in crisis.
To address this issue certain CMHTs are working to establish more consistent standards for what is an urgent referral. This was accomplished by using an established form that asks the referrer if they believe the situation is urgent. The form has a checkbox for the referrer to tick when they believe that the referral is urgent.