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Community mental health team (CMHT) (West) older peoples service
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About the service
The community mental health team for older people provide assessment, treatment and interventions tailored to the needs of the individuals visiting the service.
We work closely with Wakefield Council and the team is a mixture of Trust and council employees who are all highly skilled in their area of expertise.
Wherever possible, and with the consent of the service user, our staff work alongside carers and family to plan care. This care is delivered in a variety of community settings which includes in their home or in local clinics.
Using a range of assessment techniques the team are able to plan suitable care that enables individuals to live their life to their full potential.
The team also hosts an assertive outreach team who offer support to service users who need intensive support following a hospital stay or planned leave period in preparation for their discharge. They also provide intensive support to those experiencing relapse symptoms to ensure they can stay in their own home whilst recovering.
Why would someone choose the service?
Our staff are friendly, approachable and use language and information relevant to the public. We readily provide information and advice without using jargon or acronyms to help people understand the care they are receiving.
By conducting regular patient satisfaction surveys we are able to ensure that we meet the needs of the people who use our service and make sure that the individual feels at the centre of their care. Our staff help people to work at their own pace and respect their wishes, actively promoting independence and work towards a full recovery.
Staff you may meet
- Administrative staff provide essential support to doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. This can be in a variety of different settings, with administrators working as a receptionist in a clinic or a clerk on a ward. They may also be working closely with a consultant as a medical secretary.
- A care navigator provides advice and support to individuals their families or carers during their care. They often make home visits and support hospital discharges. Care navigators can also signpost and refer individuals to the appropriate services or help arrange care based on the individual’s needs.
- There are more than 60 different specialities that doctors work within the NHS. Each is unique but there are many characteristics which are common. Roles range from working in a hospital to being based in the community as a GP.
- Nurses who choose to specialise in the mental health branch of nursing work with GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, and others, to help care for patients. Increasingly, care is given in the community, with mental health nurses visiting patients and their families at home, in residential centres, in prisons or in specialist clinics or units.
- Adult psychotherapists work with people to assess and treat a range of emotional, social or mental health issues. They help people tackle problems such as behavioural issues, common challenges such as anxiety and depression or more complex or severe issues, such as psychosis or a personality disorder diagnosis.
- Receptionists are the first link for many patients and visitors. They often work on their own or with one or two other receptionists, greeting patients as they arrive and check them in. They might also collect patient notes and ensure that these vital records go to the right healthcare professional. In a clinic, they may make appointments and arrange patient transport.
- Social workers help, support and protect people who are facing difficulties in their lives. They help people to take positive steps to overcome problems and improve their lives. This could involve assessing and reviewing a service user’s situation, building relationships with service users and their families and agreeing what practical support someone needs.
Why a professional should choose the service
Our service embodies the Trust’s mission, vision, values and goals by working to enable service users to live life to the full. The staff treat people with compassion, respect and dignity and their care is tailored to their needs and where possible agreed with them. We adhere to national guidance set out by the Care Quality Commission and the National Institute of Clinical Excellence. Our team ensure that people’s needs are met and their care is in line with guidelines and relevant quality standards, enabling us to use effective techniques to give people the best chance of getting better or living independently.
Our work is regularly audited to ensure that we meet the needs of service users and their carers. By benchmarking good practice we are able to learn from experience and ensure that our service is responsive to people’s needs. By listening to the views of service users, carers and their family we are able to improve our service and make any necessary improvements.
Service users are protected from harm through the team’s commitment to safeguarding procedures and by following strict health and safety procedures. Effective leadership at all levels within the service ensures that our governance requirements are met and that we meet targets set not only by the Trust but by national.
The team consistently achieve best practice indicators, for example, all non-urgent referrals for assessment are seen within 14 days and seven day follow up targets are consistently met.
Support offered
A variety of support and interventions are offered by the team to support individuals we come into contact with. Some of the types of support we offer include:
- Ongoing assessment and care coordination
- Ensuring seven day follow-ups are undertaken
- Face-to-face contact
- Individual treatment programmes
- Psychological support
- Psycho-social interventions
- Supportive counselling
- Medication management, advice and support
- Signposting to other services
- Help with welfare benefits and accommodation
- Support for carers
- Independent living skills
- Development of leisure and social skills
- Individualised medical review
- Lithium monitoring nurse (blood testing)
- Support from our care home liaison nurse
- Support of service users requiring the court of protection
Outcomes
Through the support we offer we hope to help individuals recover and get back into the community as soon as possible via the following methods:
- Care coordination with agreed care planning
- Therapeutic interventions
- Maintenance of health and wellbeing
- Help to prevent relapse
- Self-management skills
- Ability to self-care
- Confidence to engage with community services
- Clarification of diagnosis
- Improve individuals physical health
- Improved individuals functional capacity
- Support relating to the court of protection
Referrals accepted from:
A & E, AHPs, Carers/family, CMHTs, Consultants, Drug/alcohol agencies, GP staff, GPs, Hospital staff, Housing associations, Local authority staff, Other NHS services, Other Trust services, Patients(self-referral), Police, Voluntary services
Referral criteria:
All referrals come to service via the Trust’s Wakefield Single Point of Access team, a central team where all referrals for mental health services in Wakefield are received, reviewed and sent to the appropriate service. Individuals are seen initially by the rapid access service or memory services for an initial assessment before being referred on to our team.