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Mental Health Crisis by
Eric Leach
No point in waking up in the morning and being physically fit if you are constantly depressed, anxious and in despair. There are more people in England suffering from mental ill-health than are suffering from any physical illness. In terms of morbidity and overall burden of disease throughout the world mental health is at 13%, cardiovascular disease 10%, cancer 5% and respiratory diseases 4% (World Health Organisation - WHO). 23% of the NHS England burden is meeting mental health needs, but only 13% of the annual NHS expenditure is on mental health. Mental ill-health covers a range of conditions which include anxiety, depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar, personality disorder, alcoholism, drug addiction, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autistic Spectrum Disorder, psychosis and Dementia. Separate services are provided in England for adults and 0-18 year olds. In the developed world, 19% of adults suffer from mental illness and 10% of children (WHO). There are 60 NHS mental health Trusts in England. Mental Health – Social, Family and Financial Aspects One of the problems of mental illness is that some of the sufferers are in denial or for one reason or another don’t want to seek out treatment. Substance abuse is often a ’companion’ to mental ill-health, but is rarely the cause. Some people are embarrassed or unwilling to admit to mental illness within their families and try to deny its existence. There is also the cost implications of mental illness. Seriously mentally ill people cannot work and earn money. This is a financial strain on the benefits 6
system. The data shows us that the more severe the mental illness the greater the number and severity of physical health problems. This poses great strain on NHS healthcare services and Local Authority social services. Mental Health Services in Ealing The current NHS count of patients registered at Ealing GP practices is 417,000. The standard ratio of adults and children is 81% to 19%. Using the WHO ratios of sufferers that gives us 64,176 adults and 7,923 children with mental health problems in Ealing. Not all those suffering are registered with the NHS. One year waiting times for NHS treatment for seriously ill mental health patients in Ealing is not unusual. NHS mental health services in Ealing are fragmented. West London NHS Trust (WLNT) in Southall provides Secondary and ‘Community’ mental health via its Ealing Community Partners (ECP) services. Primary mental health services are provided by Ealing’s 200 or so GPs working at 75 practices. Ealing’s response to Covid-19 since March 2020 mandated NHS Mental Health Wards Hope and Horizon to be closed. Seriously mentally ill patients were discharged from St Bernard’s Hospital into virtual GP surgeries. WLNT’s Secondary mental health services include a Recovery East Team, based in Acton and a Recovery West Team based in Southall. ECP mental health rehabilitation beds are located in Jasmin, Magnolia and Rosemary Wards at Clayponds Hospital in Little Ealing.
Adult Mental Health Services in Ealing If you feel you have a mental health problem you can: + If in danger call 999 + In an emergency call the NHS 24 hour mental ill-health helpline - 0300 1234 244 + Contact your GP. + Self-refer to the Ealing Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) – first contact based in West Ealing – 020 3313 5660. + Self-refer to the ECP Pathways service (psychological and psychiatric care) – based at 11 locations throughout Ealing - 020 8571 4754. GPs are generally not given extensive mental health training. Some GPs feel ill-equipped to assess and diagnose mental problems. WLHT runs the emergency 24 hour telephone line which is supposed to be clinically supported. Anecdotal evidence is that this is not always the case. The WLHT target for emergency assessment referrals is
West London NHS Trust
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