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 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.

Adult Mental Health Services in Ealing

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. 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

4 hours, urgent cases 24 hours and routine issues within 7 to 28 days.

Sectioning under the 1983 Mental Health Act

If someone is ‘Sectioned,’ they are detained in a NHS mental illhealth hospital setting. People may be Sectioned if they or someone else raises concerns that: + they need to be assessed and treated for their mental health problem + their health would be at risk of getting worse if they did not get treatment + their safety or someone else’s safety would be at serious risk if they did not get treatment + the patient’s doctor thinks they need to be assessed and treated in hospital, for example if they need to be monitored very regularly because they take new or very powerful medication. Otherwise they may be asked to attend a hospital out-patient clinic.

Sadly there was nowhere in Ealing that Sectioned patients could be housed since April 2020 – as the mental health wards were closed because of Covid-19. West London Sectioning locations are Lakeside (West Middlesex Hospital) and the Hammersmith & Fulham Mental Health Unit.

For people with personality disorders WLHT runs the Cassel Hospital in Richmond.

Early Intervention for Psychosis (EIP)

EIP teams look after people for up to three years after their first experience of psychosis (serious mental disorder). Referrals are for people between 14 And 45 years old. The EIP Ealing team is based in Hanwell.

Solace Centre

Operating in West Ealing for over 20 years this drop-in centre for mental health service users is operated by Ealing Council. It is open every day.

The WLHT Recovery College

Based in Brentford its aim is to give people the skills to become architects of their own recovery or to support someone else.

Children’s Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Ealing

WLNT provides the CAMHS for Ealing residents. The service is provided by multi-discipline teams. Conditions diagnosed and treated include: Psychosis, depression, obsessivecompulsive disorder, PTSD, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, ADHD, autistic spectrum disorders, Tourettes Syndrome, tic disorders, co-morbid epilepsy, and complex cases with comorbid development disorders. Also those with severe emotional difficulties and severe functioning impairment arising from child abuse or neglect: those with complex conduct disorder/ oppositional defiant disorder; and those who are being cared for in Ealing Hospital exhibiting self-harm and those with chronic illnesses such as asthma, HIV, terminal cancer, diabetes who need to be cared for within a biological, psychological and social model. Also handled are isolated anger outbursts, feeding problems, sleep problems, difficulties presenting exclusively in a school setting and soiling and wetting. The majority of the services are provided at WLHT’s headquarters in Southall. There is an Alliance (Crisis) Team provided jointly by WLHT and Ealing Council.

solace ceNtre

Carers

Carers are the ones who try to pick up the pieces when healthcare and social care support fails to help their mentally troubled loved one. Carers have been the Cinderella of mental health services for years and have been largely ignored by the NHS and Ealing Council. By far the best mental health carers’ group in Ealing is the Carers’ Support Group (CSG) which meets every second Tuesday in Acton. Recent CSG research reveals that problems carers face include their loved one’s withdrawal, aggression, paranoia, risky behaviour, obsessive behaviour, immaturity and lack of independence. Carers themselves are suffering from guilt, lack of hope, feeling of loss, and denial.

West London NHS Trust (WLNT)

– www.westlondon.nhs.uk EIP – 020 8483 2671

Solace Centre – 020 8567 6189

Ealing CAMHS – 020 8354 8160

Carers’ Support Group (CSG) paulette.bourrat@gmail.com

and 078905 351826

The best most easy to read book exploring the new effective solutions to the misery and injustice cause by mental illness is: ‘Thrive’ by Richard Layard and David M. Clark. ISBN: 978-1-846-14605-3