Frequently Asked Questions

Click here to read answers to questions posted at our Community Mental Health Summit

What’s happening to community mental health care?

We’re making it easier to get help with mental health challenges. We’re recruiting hundreds of new frontline workers and rolling out new and expanded neighbourhood and borough services to treat more people more quickly. We’re also investing in new programmes to make sure everyone in our community feels able to get help when they need it. By 2024, an additional 10,000 people across North Central London will be able to get help with mental health challenges.

Why are these changes happening?

This major expansion of community mental health care is part of the NHS Long Term Plan to support people with long term conditions to live longer, healthier lives. Over the next three years, we’ll receive £25 million to implement the NHS Long Term Plan locally for people with serious and enduring mental health conditions. With this extra funding, we can implement the changes you asked for in recent years.

How will this extra money be spent?

This extra funding will be used to transform community mental health care. In addition to recruiting more staff to treat more people more quickly, we’re fundamentally changing our approach to mental health by focusing more on prevention and early intervention. The new neighbourhood teams will help you to recover sooner and support you to manage your own condition and stay well. They’ll also provide more help if your needs change in future. We’re commissioning new services to enable teams to provide wraparound care that meets your mental health, physical health and social needs. We’re also investing in new outreach services programmes to tackle mental health inequality and improve mental wellbeing for everyone in our community.

When are these changes happening?

Transforming community mental health care takes time. The new and expanded services will be rolled out gradually over three years from 2021 as staff are recruited and funding becomes available. The expansion will be complete by 2024.

What services will be available in my neighbourhood?

Your neighbourhood team will provide comprehensive mental health care and support. You’ll find most if not all of the services you need under one roof - mental and physical health checks; psychological therapies, social prescribing and medication; social care and practical support.

The team will link you up with social services if you need help day-to-day because of your mental health condition. They’ll help resolve problems that can affect mental health like finding accommodation or work, accessing benefits or managing personal finances, tackling addiction or feeling isolated. Specialist mental health teams will step in when needed to provide more intensive treatment.

When will these services be available in my neighbourhood?

These new neighbourhood services will be available initially in east Haringey, central Islington, Kentish Town, north Barnet and south Enfield from 2021 and expand to other areas over the next two years. By 2024, everyone will be able to access comprehensive mental health care and support in their neighbourhood.

Who are these new services for?

The new neighbourhood teams will provide care and support to adults who are not suited to IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapy) talking therapies – they may not meet eligibility criteria or may have needs that cannot be met by talking therapy alone. It includes people diagnosed with severe forms of common disorders like anxiety and depression and serious conditions like bipolar, psychosis and schizophrenia. It also includes people who are not yet receiving care for mental health problems and those with co-existing physical or psychological conditions including eating disorders and addiction.

Will I be able to shape my own care?

Yes. From April, everyone accessing community mental health care will be invited to co-produce their Personal Care and Support Plan. We’ll work with you to identify the services you need to achieve your goals. Services can be flexed up or down as your needs change. You’ll have a designated keyworker who you can contact to ask for more help at any time.

Who will work in the new neighbourhood teams?

The new neighbourhood teams will include mental health experts from the NHS, social care and community sector. The new frontline workers include community outreach specialists, peer coaches, occupational therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, specialist nurses and support officers. We’re recruiting to more than 160 full-time roles in 2021 alone.

Who will deliver the new support services?

We’ve commissioned more than a dozen community sector organisations to deliver new and expanded support services including peer coaching, community outreach and practical help with social factors that can affect mental health. These services will be offered initially in the early pilot sites before extending to other areas over the next two years.

Barnet	Wellbeing Together consortium comprising Community Barnet, Inclusion Barnet, Meridian Wellbeing and Mind in Barnet.
Camden	Mind in Camden, Likewise, Hillside Clubhouse
Enfield	Mind in Enfield, Alpha Care Specialists, Enfield Voluntary Action, Sahelli
Haringey	Hestia
Islington	Age UK, Healthwatch Islington and Islington People’s Rights.

Where can I find more information?

Find more information on our websites.

Answers to questions posted at our Community Mental Health Summit

Why are these changes happening now?

These changes are part of the NHS Long Term Plan – the national strategy to transform care and improve quality of life for people with long term conditions including mental health problems. The transformation is supported by new funding – total NHS spending on community mental health services in North Central London is set to increase by almost 400 per cent between 2021 and 2024.

When you say 'everyone', presumably there is a fundamental threshold for who will receive mental health care and support?

The new neighbourhood teams will provide holistic mental health care and support to adults unsuited or ineligible for IAPT talking therapy. This includes people diagnosed with severe forms of common disorders like anxiety and depression, serious conditions like bipolar, psychosis and schizophrenia and those with the most complex needs. It also includes people with co-existing physical or psychological conditions including addiction, eating and post-traumatic stress disorders. Importantly, it includes people yet to receive care for serious mental health conditions.

Who is eligible to have an assigned keyworker?

From April 2022, every adult under the care of community mental health teams will have an assigned keyworker – a professional they can contact if they need more support in future. This includes adults currently receiving care and those referred in future.

Who is a keyworker and will they have capacity to manage a person’s care?

In most cases, the keyworker will be the mental health professional you’re scheduled to meet at your next appointment. This may be a nurse, psychologist, social worker, occupational therapist, doctor or other professional. Part of a larger multi-disciplinary team, the keyworker is not expected to provide all your care. They will link you up with others in the team to ensure you get the help you need.

What support is available to carers?

With more staff, we’ll be able to provide more support to carers. For example, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends carers of adults diagnosed with psychosis and schizophrenia are offered an assessment of their own mental health needs and should co-produce an annual care plan to address their unmet needs. The Institute also recommends carers are offered education and have access to support programmes. These new and expanded services for carers will roll out in time as the new neighbourhood mental health teams are set up and staff are recruited.

What about young people?

Alongside our programme to transform community mental health services for adults, we’re also investing millions of pounds to expand and transform services for children and young people. By 2025, total funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services across North Central London is expected to triple. This new investment will enable us to recruit more frontline workers – doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and others. We’ll also commission new and expanded support services from community sector organisations to provide practical help to resolve problems that can affect mental health and support those in recovery.

How will we know positive change has been achieved?

These changes aim to transform your care experience and quality of life. By providing help earlier, we expect to see fewer people needing crisis support, hospital treatment or being detained under the Mental Health Act. By providing more help to look after your physical health, we expect to see a reduction in premature deaths from physical conditions like cancer and heart disease. By providing more support to get into work, we expect to see a significant increase in the number of people with a diagnosed mental health condition in employment. These changes won’t happen overnight and will likely take many years. We’ll track these and other measurable outcomes as this programme evolves. We’ll work with our partners on the North Central London Integrated Care Board to make this information publicly available so you can track progress.

Can we expand the number of types of therapy available?

Yes. We’re recruiting more psychologists to work in neighbourhood mental health teams and borough-wide specialist services. This will enable us to offer psychological therapies to more people and deliver the full range of recommended therapies. NHS England decides the types of therapy provided. For psychosis, this includes cognitive behaviour therapy and family intervention. For bipolar disorder, it also includes interpersonal psychotherapy or social rhythm therapy. For people with the most complex needs, the recommended therapies are schema focused therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, mentalisation-based therapy, transference focused psychotherapy, interpersonal group psychotherapy and cognitive analytic therapy.

Are you recruiting therapists?

Yes. In addition to recruiting qualified psychologists, we’re also recruiting psychological therapists and trainees. They will work in new neighbourhood mental health teams or specialist services for those with the most complex needs.

Do the holistic health practitioners include Reiki Healing practitioners?

While many people find Reiki helpful, there is currently limited empirical evidence showing clear benefits for people with serious mental health conditions. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence does not yet recommend Reiki for people with serious or severe mental health conditions. NHS England requires funds to be spent on evidence-based treatments recommended by NICE.

How will specialised services be commissioned so they are sustainable?

In addition to rolling out new neighbourhood services, we’re also investing in new and expanded specialist services for people with eating disorders, very complex needs and psychosis. We’re recruiting more doctors, nurses, psychologists and other experts to treat more people more quickly. These specialist services will be delivered across one or more boroughs in line with NHS guidance to ensure there is sufficient need and its sustainable in the long term.

Will eating disorder services be available in the community?

Adults with eating disorders will receive holistic care and support from new neighbourhood mental health teams. The eating disorder service at St Ann’s Hospital will continue to provide specialist care for those requiring more intensive support including outpatient and inpatient treatment. NHS England requires community eating disorder services serve a population of at least one million people.

Where should people go to access practical benefits help at the moment?

You can get practical help to resolve problems from a variety of community organisations. You can find a choice on these websites.

How will Local Authority Services be involved in these discussions?

We are working closely with our colleagues in local government to transform community mental health care at a regional level as partners on the North Central London Integrated Care Board, at borough level in Integrated Care Partnerships and Health and Wellbeing Boards and other groups. We deliver community mental health services in partnership with Councils in most boroughs. In Camden and other boroughs, social workers employed by the local authority work alongside NHS staff to provide holistic mental health care and support. We expect these working relationships to deepen as the programme progresses.

Who are your community sector partners?

We’ve commissioned more than a dozen community sector organisations to deliver new and expanded support services including practical help with social needs that can affect mental health. There are different partners in each borough.

Barnet	Wellbeing Together consortium representing Community Barnet, Inclusion Barnet, Meridian Wellbeing and Mind in Barnet
Camden	Mind in Camden; Likewise; Hillside Clubhouse
Enfield	Mind in Enfield supported by Alpha Care Specialists, Enfield Voluntary Action and Sahelli
Haringey	Hestia
Islington	Age UK, Healthwatch Islington and Islington People’s Rights

How can I keep up to date about changes?

Complete this online form to receive our monthly community mental health update. If you are unable to access the online form, please email beh-tr.ask-cmht@nhs.net.

Transforming community mental health care