Notts Talking Therapies 21/03/2024
Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Talking Therapies
On the 21st March 2024, the Digital & Social Inclusion Coordinators from Sherwood Forest Hospitals, Retford & Villages PCN and Worksop & Bawtry PCN, attended the Notts Talking Therapy Conference in Mansfield where we met people and organisations across from Nottinghamshire, to discuss how to improve mental health services and make Talking Therapies more accessible for patients.
Starting as a partnership between NHS, Vita Health Group and Everyturn Mental Health, Nottinghamshire Talking Therapies has now combined the experience and knowledge of these organisations into one and has now been running for 1 year with the number of patients in Bassetlaw increasing from 154 in April 2023 to 244 in February 2024.
Below are the stats and figures for Nottinghamshire referral activity:
To meet requirement, you must have registered to a local GP in Nottinghamshire, are experiencing mild/ moderate to severe symptoms of common mental health conditions, be aged 18 or above with referrals being accepted to those who have their birthdays 6 weeks prior to them turning 18 and patients may also feel physically ill due to the state of their mental health.
Employment Support
With unemployment creating barriers such as anxiety and depression, Employment Support is offered to patients who are accessing therapy and can be either employed, looking for work, are off sick, or just in need of direction. The Employment Advisor can help with the aim of addressing specific challenges, whether they arise from low mood, anxiety, a workplace situation or unemployment.
After first assessments, regular one to one appointments are then made through various options dependant on a patient’s specific needs with the aim to improve mental health and gain employment.
Key achievements since launching our service in April 2023 (data recorded January 2024):
- 2245 Employment Support referrals received
- 1702 patients have accessed employment support
- 76% uptake of employment support
More information on NHS Employment Referrals can be found here: Employment Support Services for people using secondary mental health services, Future’s Positive | Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Healthy Living Healthy Minds
Healthy Living Healthy Minds is an evidence-based lifestyle course for people with mild/ moderate symptoms of depression or anxiety. It can be accessed whilst on the waiting list or alongside therapy with the aim to help people make improvements to their physical activity levels, boost motivation, and have more energy.
The support consists of contact between 6 and 12 weeks with the aim of kickstarting lifestyle goals by providing suitable knowledge on maintaining motivation, boosting exercise levels for mental wellbeing, nutrition for mental health, improving sleep routines, and building resilience to stress.
Digital & Social Inclusion Coordinators
The Digital & Social Inclusion Coordinators in Bassetlaw and Nottinghamshire are there to provide any help and information regarding to our online services such as the NHS App. This information and services can be accessed via online, telephone or face to face appointments based on the patients’ requirements and needs.
Research of users of digital health services in the UK:
- 54% of people looked up health information online in a three month period
- 40,000,000 people visit the NHS.UK website every month
- 9% of adults have a smart watch or fitness tracker
- 98,984 people made a repeat prescription request through the NHS App in one month
Many patients struggle going online whether that’s gaining access or not having the appropriate skills as our research found that 11,300,000 of the UK population (21%) lack the basic digital skills to use the internet effectively and that 4,800,000 people never go online at all so our role is to make getting online more understandable as well as accessible when patients have questions and queries such as sending us messages using our Online Access Tool or how to book appointments online.
Future & Innovations
Notts Talking Therapies are taking new ways to approach community engagement by introducing VR therapy sessions and podcasts for patients to gain more access and feel more comfortable with referring as well as introducing more mobile options such as mobile GPs, banks and libraries.
Notts Talking Therapies are also looking at plans for future goals that include:
- Increase access particularly for ethnically diverse groups and the elderly population
- Tackling inequalities and deliver culturally sensitive services
- Engagement with service users, the public and other stakeholders
- Co-design at Place (Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment)
- Strong partnership working – referral pathways, colocation, joint delivery of psychoeducation
- Joined up care, seamless pathways
For more updates from Retford & Villages PCN, you can find us on our socials where you can like, share & subscribe for news in your area.