An increase in workloads for mental health trusts in England has led to the government planning to aim is to recruit enough nurses, therapists and consultants to treat an extra one million patients by 2020-21.
According to the BBC, of 39 mental health trusts that provided figures for their crisis teams, 27 had seen their workload increase while some had referrals rise by as much as 60% – but without a comparable rise in funding.
BBC Radio 5 live contacted all 54 mental health trusts who run crisis teams in England and one of them, East London NHS Foundation Trust, revealed its crisis team had seen referrals increase from 7,057 to 11,368 last year.
In 2014, a report for NHS England acknowledged the system was ‘stacked against’ mental health and last year a further report for NHS England said the majority of crisis teams ‘are not currently sufficiently resourced to operate 24/7, with caseloads above levels that allow teams to fulfil their core functions’.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was time to end the ‘historic imbalance’ between mental and physical health services, adding that an extra £1bn already promised for mental health services in England would fund the scheme – part of a pot of £1.3bn committed in 2016 to transform provision.
These plans set out how some of that money will be spent – mostly on recruiting staff, with the main focus being on child and adolescent mental health services, therapists delivering talking therapies for adults and nurses working in crisis care.
Professor Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said 570 extra consultants had been promised in the plans. “You would expect to see a consultant if you had cancer and the same applies for mental health,” she added.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy, with more than 1,800 therapists across the UK, says around one in seven people is suffering from stress or anxiety at any one time in the UK.
“And while some people manage, more and more people are showing signs of over-anxiety, which leads to stress, which can make a significant impact on the quality of life and wellbeing.”
“People can suffer from a wide variety of distressing feelings such as panic attacks, anxiety, jealousy, guilt, anger or inadequacy. They can also have thoughts of low self-esteem, or obsessive thoughts about someone or something. They may not be able, for example, to get out of their minds the idea that they are suffering from an illness, despite medical reassurance, or that a partner is unfaithful,” says the NCH, saying that hypnotherapy can help to change such ideas.
The government’s plans include recruiting 2,900 additional therapists and health professionals supporting adult talking therapies and 4,800 additional posts for nurses and therapists working in crisis care settings as well as 2,000 more nurses, consultants and therapist posts in child and adolescent mental health services.
Explaining clinical hypnotherapy, the NCH says: “A hypnotherapist is a guide and helps you on a journey, but the change can only be made by you. Often the realisation that you are in control, and that you can make change yourself is very empowering. You’ll find that the more often you going into hypnosis, aware that you doing it, the more you realize how easy it is to let go.”
Using a range of different techniques an NCH hypnotherapist will relax their client, making them feel comfortable and then work with the client towards achieving their goal of how they would like to lead their life.
“After a session you may feel uplifted, lighter and very relaxed. Often change is very subtle, as your hypnotherapist will be working with your subconscious mind, and you may just notice a very positive shift in how you are feeling,” says the NCH.